Stuck with each other
by mistress-of-kurapika-sama
Summary: A visitor. A familiar rose. A wish. Is this what Tamaki & Haruhi really wanted? What awaits them is the consequence of their heart's desire. Find out what happens to the pair as the story slowly unfolds.
1. A Wishing Rose

The sky was turning dark; the clouds were filled with roars of thunder. It was just 3 in the afternoon in the Ouran Academy. It was unlikely to have a rainy weather at a sunny afternoon when the weather forecast did not detect any rain showers or thunderstorms.

A girl with an average height, boyish haircut and large brown eyes was currently studying at the library. "That's really odd." Haruhi Fujioka muttered as she looked at the sky by the window. Her large eyes looked terrified. She quickly jumped out of her seat and started taking the books she borrowed back to the librarian. She did not care if she was required by the Host Club after she came from the library. She just wanted to go home before. . .

_TOCK! TOCK! TOCK!_

There was a knock at the 3rd Music Room of Ouran Academy. The half-French, half-Japanese Prince of the club turned around. Tamaki Suoh was busy pleasing the girls beside him when he came to an abrupt halt. He took out a rose and welcomed the visitor along with the other members. "Welcome."

There was no response from the odd visitor. It was wearing a black hood (Tamaki had a good impression it was ...); however, an old woman's voice spoke behind the hood. "I am here to deliver something." As soon as she said this, the lightning suddenly flashed by the windows. All the girls shrieked and stood behind the host club members. It seemed that they were inside a horror movie. The chandeliers and the other lights started flickering.

"Ooh, scary!" the twins, Hikaru and Kaoru said in unison as they embraced each other.

"Excuse me, but we do not accept anyone else besides members of this Academy and of course, who do not belong on high status. It depends on what you are to deliver. It may serve as your entrance." The shadow king spoke with his eyes hidden in those glasses. (Haruhi suddenly felt annoyed without any reason. She was still inside the library.)

"Father, you are being rude you know. She is an old lady and what are we, host clubs for?" Tamaki's eyes sparkled as he grew closer to the old lady, offering her a rose.

"Ta – Tama-chan, do – don't go closer to her." Honey stammered, stretching Mori's black hair.

"Yes madame?" Tamaki asked. The old lady gave him something. Kyoya, Hikaru and Kaoru, Honey and Mori, as well as the other ladies present could not identify what the lady had given Tamaki; it was, somehow, invisible in their eyes. Unless, Tamaki was just pretending he did receive something from the old lady. Then, she muttered a few words to Tamaki and then, before she left the front door of the 3rd Music Room, another flash of lightning was seen and then, she was no longer in sight. The doors of the room suddenly closed without any wind blowing it. Tamaki gazed at what he was holding with his mouth wide open.

"Lord, what is it that she gave you that made you so awestruck?" Hikaru came over to Tamaki.

"Yeah, you only act like that when Haruhi said something that affects you deeply." Kaoru teased.

The rest of the members peered at what Tamaki was holding, which was actually nothing.

"Er – I don't mean to offend you Tama-chan but what exactly are you holding?"

Tamaki jumped as he realized that his friends were around him, looking at what he was holding in his hands. "Oh! I – It's a rose you see! It's different from what I am holding. It sparkles."

"Ha? A sparkling rose?" Hikaru and Kaoru laughed hysterically. "Lord, are you sure it's not wet? It may just be water that you think it's sparkling."

But Tamaki was not listening; he was just about to turn the doorknob when someone else opened it and unexpectedly embraced him. All the ladies started yelling, "Kyaa!" or "MOE" once this person had entered. Hikaru was feeling somehow uncomfortable with this scenery. Haruhi came to the host club to tell them she would go home but ended up being frightened by the thunderstorms and embracing Tamaki unexpectedly.

Tamaki's face quickly turned red. Then, he shook his face of and realized what was happening. "Ah, sempai, sorry! I – I was just –" small tears came down from Haruhi's eyes and Tamaki led her inside another room, where they were all alone.

"Hush, hush, Haruhi. It'll be over soon." Tamaki said gently as he placed a cloth around Haruhi to make her warm and sat beside her. They were sitting beside the door. He was still gazing at the sparkling pink rose that the old lady had given him. It seemed there was an aura surrounding it. He untied the letter attached to it and started reading:

_This is a wishing rose. It could grant any of your impossible wishes. Just be careful of what you wish for. The petals would start falling down when your wish is being fulfilled. Those who are given this rose could only see it since it was only given to those who are needed._

"Sempai? Did you just receive the same flower?" Haruhi asked as she pointed at what Tamaki was holding.

"Y – You also did?" Tamaki asked surprisingly. Haruhi nodded.

Their thoughts were both on the rose, thinking what to wish for now that they are given a chance to ask for what they want.

_

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Oh, this is my first Ouran work. Please do leave your reviews after reading it. And it's not yet finished mind you. The review button is just a click away. That would be a real help. Thanks! ;)


	2. The sweetest wish

Tamaki placed the wishing rose down and placed his arms around Haruhi. _This is not the right time to think about odd events. My Haruhi needs me right now and I should comfort her like a real father. _He closed his eyes and touched Haruhi's head. He pushed it gently towards his shoulders and spoke in his most gentle voice, "Don't worry, Haruhi. Your Father's here. Calm down." Haruhi did not mind Tamaki being this close to her. She was so terrified that she did not realize that they were just alone. Tamaki could still sense that she was trembling. Her knees would not stop shaking and her lips became so dry that she could not utter a single word.

It took sometime before the weather finally calms down. The host club continued their usual duties without _the Prince type_ and _the natural type_ around. Kyoya urged the rest of the hosts and guests to proceed to what they were doing earlier. (You probably know that it was all for the money; however, he, himself was interested in what's been happening with Haruhi and Tamaki inside the other room, _all alone._)

"What are you two doing in there? We still have to finish cleaning this all up." Kyoya fixed his spectacles as he gazed at the twins who were busy peering at the keyhole of the other room. The host club members were the only ones left in the room.

"Sheesh. Don't tell us you're not interested in what's happening with _them._" Kaoru looked at Kyoya sheepishly.

"They have been there hours ago. I wonder what Tama-chan & Haru-chan are doing? I hope Haru-chan's okay. The weather is fine now." Honey embraced his usa-chan tightly around his arms. Mori just nodded as Honey gripped for Mori's uniform for second the motion. Kyoya continued scribbling in his clipboard.

"Don't, Tamaki sempai." Haruhi said timidly. Hikaru, Kaoru, Honey, Mori's ears became so large that it turned like an ear of an elephant. They all pressed their ears at the door while Kyoya kept scribbling in his clipboard. He was already near the door like the rest of the club hosts.

_I thought you weren't interested? _Hikaru mouthed the words.

Kyoya pretended he did not hear Hikaru but hid his grin under the clipboard.

"Now, now, Haruhi," they heard Tamaki speaking gently. "It's all over. You don't need to be ashamed of what happened."

"Oh, sempai..."

The hosts exchanged nervous looks. What's been happening? Hikaru's heart would burst if he did not know what was happening inside. He had to know. He slowly reached for the doorknob until it pulled open. The four of them fell on the ground excluding Kyoya. Tamaki greeted them all blissfully, as if nothing had happened. He pulled Haruhi slowly out of the room. Her short hair and uniform were a bit untidy, which was odd for the hosts since they knew her from top to bottom.

"Wha – What happened to you two?! The hosting is over!" Hikaru said.

"I just accompanied my daughter inside the room and I don't want to leave her all alone while there are thunderstorms!" Tamaki said defensively. "Isn't that right, Mother?"

"It took you two a long time to comfort each other." Kaoru walked around Tamaki as if he could see right thru him (which was Kyoya's skill).

Kyoya finally closed his clipboard which made all of them jump. Haruhi gazed at him; she knew he had something in his sleeve that would make her day worse. Kyoya met her eyes and grinned. "What is it, Haruhi? Why are looking as if I'm going to ruin your day? Isn't it Tamaki who ruined it for you?"

"Urhhh...."

"You two should clean the mess here since you did not do your duties as hosts." Kyoya said icily. He walked out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

"That's nice to hear, I'm already tired anyway." Kaoru shrugged.

"Yeah, I'm not in the mood to do the cleaning too since our _toy_ did not play with us today. Our Lord played selfishly with her." Hikaru said. Haruhi met his eyes but did not say anything. She was not a toy to begin with, she was a human; however, she knew that the twins enjoyed teasing her around.

"W – Wait! Kyo – Kyoya! Hi – Hikaru! Kaoru!" Tamaki begged with his large, puppy dog eyes.

"Gambatte, Tama-chan, Haru-chan!" Honey waved as he and Mori left the room.

"Don't look at me like that, sempai." Tamaki was also looking at her with his puppy, dog eyes as if begging her that they both leave the room and let the janitor clean all their mess. "It's all your fault. You shouldn't have brought me inside that room now everyone will thi –"

"I don't care what they think." Tamaki said seriously. "Besides, you won't be able to host well if you are scared of thunderstorms." Haruhi opened her mouth to argue, but found it hard what to respond. Tamaki had a point and she knew it. She turned her back and grinned as she swept the dust away.

"Aha! Am I right, my Haruhi?" Tamaki showed up in front of her.

"Just start cleaning already."

"Haruhi, Haruhi, tadaima!!" a familiar voice spoke from the door. Ranka just came home. He was soaking wet due to the weather earlier.

"Okairi..." Haruhi greeted. She placed the rose back in her pocket and removed her apron. (She was still busy thinking what to wish for.) She took the umbrella from Ranka. "I'll take this. You go dry yourself at the bathroom."

"Okay, Haruhi."

Meanwhile, at Tamaki's residence...

"I KNOW WHAT TO WISH FOR!!!" Tamaki yelled after hours of thinking in his room ever since he got home. He had not even undressed his uniform. The maid who was supposed to call him for dinner jumped in astonishment. She knocked at the doorknob and said, "Tamaki-sama, dinner is served."

"Y – Yes, coming." Tamaki replied gleefully. His eyes were sparkling as he danced with the maid around the room and then, pushed her gently outside. He was humming as he slowly shut the door behind him. He held the rose close to him and he whispered the words he was longing to say: _I wish to be with my Haruhi forever and ever._


	3. Secret between Us

_Thanks for the review(KageNoNeko) & for the future, that is if you, the other readers will ever leave one. Finally, here's the next chappie! Enjoy!_

* * *

That night, Haruhi could not sleep well. She kept on tossing and turning on her sleep. Her eyes were shut tight but she could not go into a deep slumber. She wondered why. She scratched her head and sat up for awhile. _This is odd. Why can't I sleep well? I do hope no one's thinking of me around this time. _The image of Tamaki showed up at the wall saying, "Haruhi! Haruhi! Come here, I miss my daughter so much!!" She had an expressionless face when she thought of her idiotic father running towards her direction. She shook her thoughts away and shrugged. _No, senpai must be dozing off by this minute. Why did he suddenly pop out of my head? _Then, Haruhi became serious at the thought of the twins. "Haruhi, Haruhi, let's play the guessing game!!" _No. _The thought of a calm Mori-senpai and high-spirited Hunny-senpai appeared on her mind. "Haru-chan! Let's play, let's play!" _No. _The thought of Kyoya-senpai's cold, judging eyes, hidden evil grin and the skills that he could see right through everyone. "What's the matter, Haruhi?" _Not even close._ Now, why would they be thinking of her at this moment? Haruhi suddenly smiled to herself; she was actually thinking of them and probably, they were doing the same thing, too.

_Why do I feel something's not right is going to happen? I just had this odd feeling squirming inside of me._ Haruhi sighed and looked at the sky; she was hoping it would not be another bad weather coming up. Then, she finally laid back to sleep. _No, I must be tired. I should get some rest or I won't be able to review well for tomorrow. _She closed her eyes and hoped that she could at least get some decent sleep since she had an exam for the next day.

Tamaki gets up early the next morning; he could not wait what would happen with his sudden wish yesterday. His eyes were gazing at the azure clear sky as the thought of Haruhi being with him forever puts him into one of his fantasies.

He and Haruhi were at the garden, where the whole host club were playing hide and seek at the moment. His hands were holding Haruhi's; never wanting to let go of it. Haruhi was gazing Tamaki with a timid expression on her face. "Don't worry Haruhi, they won't find us."

"S – Senpai?"

"Yes, my dear daughter?" Tamaki turned to Haruhi and looked at those beautiful eyes.

"I wanted to be like this forever, to be with you this close and to..." Haruhi looked away; her face slightly burning up. Tamaki held her chin and drew his face closer to her. "Yes, dear, and what else do you want us to be?" He held her waist and drew her near him. Her hands touched his pounding chest and slowly, she closed her large eyes and waited for him to kiss her.

Tamaki was about to kiss her when there was a knock by the door. "AARRGGHH!" Tamaki yelled. He was so close in reaching those lips. His eyes were so close to tears when he turned to the door. The maid did not enter, instead she spoke in her gentle voice, "Ohayou, Tamaki-sama, breakfast is ready. You may eat once you are finished with what you are currently doing." Tamaki suddenly flushed upon hearing the maid's words.

"I – I'll be right there." Tamaki said distractedly. He pushed the door close and pressed the lock. Then, something caught his attention; something glistening was floating in midair on his table. It was his wishing rose. He looked underneath it if something was making it float. He even waved his hands under the rose as if checking if there was some trick; but there was nothing. It was floating and rotating all by itself. Tamaki's heart suddenly thumped upon remembering his wish yesterday. He was so excited on what would happen with him and Haruhi that he accidentally stepped on his mobile phone and slipped.

_OUCH!!_

Then, his mobile phone was vibrating; it seemed his feet had pressed a number to be called. He grasped his phone abruptly to end the call; however, he was astonished to find out whose number it was. It was Haruhi's. A calm, little voice answered on the other line, "Hello, Senpai? What's the matter? Are you going to ask me to buy some commoner products for the host club?"

Tamaki gulped before he could speak.

"Senpai? Hello?"

"Ah, Ha – Haruhi,"

"Yes, Senpai? I'm quite busy this time so get on with what you are supposed to say." Haruhi said in a hurry.

Tamaki's chest was struck by an arrow all of the sudden. Haruhi was so frank when she was busy doing something; she does not want anyone disturbing her in her studies. "Y – Yes – I mean, no, it's not for the host club that I called you for. It is about – yo – no, it is about the rose – ah, yes, the magical rose that we both received. Did you make a wish already?"

Tamaki heard Haruhi sigh on the other line. He became so tense in hearing her that he started to bite his nails. "No, I haven't. Senpai, are you sure this is important? I still have to study for my exam today."

"Well, y – yes of course it's important. Daddy wants you to keep a secret." Tamaki said nervously.

"A secret?"

"Y – Yes, about the rose. Don't mention it to the rest of the family. They would not understand what they don't see." Tamaki said. "It's just between us, if they ask you about what I received from the old lady that night then pretend that you did not see anything as well."

"Why should we keep it a secret when they can't even see it?"

"Uh –" Tamaki was speechless; Haruhi had a point. "Well, just to be sure! If they noticed something fishy then, just act normal."

"Alright," Haruhi said. _Just to calm him down, I'd agree._ "Uh, senpai? Have you wished for something already?"

Tamaki froze upon hearing Haruhi's question. "I – well – I haven't eaten yet. I think I hear my maid calling me for breakfast. See you at school, Haruhi and keep our secret, okay? Daddy will be proud of you if you keep it." Then, he ended the call.

_How weird._ Haruhi placed her mobile phone down and looked down on her notes once again. She could not afford to waste time for nonsense.

* * *

The host club had already started and Haruhi was nowhere insight. Tamaki kept turning his head whenever the door of the 3rd Music room opens until it almost crack.

"What's the matter, my lord? Waiting for someone?" Kaoru asked as he and Hikaru placed their arms on Tamaki's shoulders.

"N – No, not really," Tamaki lied; he took a sip on his cup of coffee to hide his anxious expression. What's keeping Haruhi for so long? He could not even think what the rose would do to keep them together, forever.

"I haven't seen our toy today, have you Kaoru?"

"No, I haven't. She is late."

"PFFFT!!!" Tamaki spat the coffee on both of the twins.

"Hey, that's disgusting. Why did you do that for?"

"Yeah, you got us all dirty! Hey, Kaoru, he's running away!"

"Come back here!" the twins yelled in unison. The two jumped on Tamaki when the door swung open; "Uh, hi, sorry, I'm late, minna."

"Oh, it's Haruhi-kun! Kyaa!" the girls started to gather around Haruhi. Tamaki's heart leaped upon hearing her small voice. It was finally his Haruhi. He was facing the floor; he pushed away the twins over him but they would not budge. Hikaru was sitting on him while Kaoru was holding his feet. He struggled like a worm until he was closer to Haruhi's feet. "Senpai? What are you doing down there?" She noticed that the twins were bullying Tamaki. "Aw, let him go you two. I think he had enough."

"Haruhi, Haruhi, I'm glad you're finally here. Daddy's been worried you were stuck with your exam." Tamaki held her hands and swayed it like the two of them were children.

"Senpai, you do know that I will still go here even after I have taken the exam." Haruhi grunted. Tamaki released her hands gently; however, something was wrong. As Tamaki looked at Haruhi's hands and his, it seemed inseparable. Tamaki noticed something fell down from his pocket; it was a petal.


	4. Stick with You

_Yes, well, I was planning on doing something related to Beauty and the Beast. But that's not the whole plot is all about. I have something else in mind. Tee hee. Anyway, thanks for the reviews. Keep 'em coming and I'll keep you updated._

* * *

Tamaki pulled again; but Haruhi's hands stayed the same. It was as if their hands were glued together. Tamaki panicked upon realizing what was happening that he scampered out of the room _without knowing he dragged Haruhi behind_. "This is not how I want it to be." He said under his breath. "But at least, I could get to spend time with my dear Haruhi." His eyes were sparkling brightly and he was grinning stupidly. Then, he felt someone poked him at the nape. Tamaki's heart leaped out of his chest and he caught it just in time to return it to where it belonged.

"What were you saying awhile ago? I heard you were mentioning my name." said a familiar, small voice from behind.

Tamaki felt a cold chill at his back. He slowly turned his head around with a terrified expression on his face. "Ha – Haruhi!! Wha – What are y – you doing here?!" He tried to move away from her; however, she was still behind him, like his shadow.

With a dull expression on Haruhi's face, she spoke, "My hands, they're stuck with yours, if you haven't noticed it, Senpai."

Tamaki started sweating; he was suddenly feeling guilty for what has been happening. "It's – not – stuck – it's,"

Haruhi held his arms and tried to pull their hands away. Tamaki felt his face grew redder and redder that he almost fainted when she touched his arms. "Be still, Senpai. Did you eat a gum or something sweet? It won't come off!"

Tamaki gazed at her serious face. _Aya! She looked so cute when she gets all that serious. Oh, I wanted to embrace her so badly. Wait a minute! What am I saying? I could embrace her! All I need is to. . . _

OUFF!!

The pair of them fell on the ground. Haruhi had her back turned from Tamaki and Tamaki had his back laid on the ground. "Ouch! Uh – Senpai!! Are you alright?" Haruhi tried to turn her body around but she could not budge. This time, it seemed her waist was stuck with Tamaki's stomach. Tamaki's eyes were swirling round and round and his face was all red.

Haruhi tried to turn around bit by bit; she was progressing although the situation stays the same, she is still stuck with Tamaki. Finally, she was able to move her waist to the right so that she would be able to face Tamaki. He was still unconscious; Haruhi gazed at him, observing his dumb expression on his face. "Senpai, wake up! This is not the time to sleep! Tamaki-senpai!!" Haruhi used her right hand to slap his face. Tamaki's face was getting redder and redder by the minute that he finally opened his violet (_sorry, don't know exactly what color is Tamaki's eyes, you could correct me during the review if I gave the wrong color name_) eyes. First, Haruhi's face was a blur but as Tamaki blinked continuously; her face became clear in his eyes. "HARUHI!!" He quickly sat on the ground to peer at Haruhi's face. Just then, he had only realized that Haruhi's right hand were on his cheeks. "Arghh!! Ha – Haruhi, what's the meaning of this? Did you take advantage of me while I was unconscious?"

Feeling thoroughly annoyed with what Tamaki said, Haruhi looked at him with disgust, "Take advantage of you? What should I take advantage of you for?" Her hand was still stuck at Tamaki's face.

"Uh? What does this mean then?" Tamaki asked as he pointed at Haruhi's hand being stuck in his cheek. Besides that, she was also seated on his lap.

"Senpai, don't think of such things." Haruhi said, with her face, flushing slightly. "My right hand just happens to stick at your face and my waist seems to be stuck with your stomach. And I don't think this is a laughing matter. Others would think that something is going on. . ." Haruhi could not say it; however, she said it under her breath, "between us. So don't just sit there, help me to remove my hand from your sticky body!"

The pair of them was busy pulling each other's body away from each other when a girl happened to pass by. Her large eyes sparkled upon seeing the two of them together. "Kyaa~!" Her voice made Haruhi jump. She had not noticed that Tamaki fainted after she had her hands stuck with him. "R – Renge-chan, what are you doing in here?" Haruhi muttered.

Renge_ faints _from MOE obsession_. _Then, her eyes sparkled once again as she took a camera out of nowhere and tried to get a perfect view for Haruhi and Tamaki. "Don't move. I'm sure this will sell a million copies! I can't believe I happen to pass here! I'm glad I just did!" She brought out a microphone as she televised herself in front of the pair.

"Look, Renge, Tamaki just fainted." Haruhi said calmly. "You could probably forget the MOE thing for awhile and help me carry senpai back to the 3rd Music Room."

"Oh, how SWEET!!!" Renge's voice echoed at the corridor. She then handed the microphone back to the camera man and helped Haruhi in carrying Tamaki. She could not help but notice that Haruhi's hands were still stuck with Tamaki's face.

"What are you grinning about?" Haruhi panted.

"Oh, nothing," Renge said happily as they both headed for the 3rd Music room. Ladies scampered toward their direction when they first step at the door. They could not help but brood about Tamaki's condition (_in which they have the slightest idea that he had just fainted and there is nothing serious about his case._) But as they peered at Tamaki's face over and over again, Haruhi kept being dragged behind since her hand was still stuck on his face. Then, a hysterical voice laughed, "HO, HO, HO, HO, HO!" The girls turned around, including the host club. "Can't you see, what made Tamaki lose his consciousness? It's that Haruhi-kun!!" The girls and the host club turned around to gaze at Haruhi, who was forcing her way out of the situation. She became so small that she wanted to disappear at that very moment. There were hearts coming out of the girls' eyes.

"Oh no, Haruhi's secret would be revealed!" Hikaru whispered to Kyoya.

Kyoya, instead of worrying, grinned at Hikaru. He pushed his spectacles close to his eyes. "Ah, you don't need to worry about Haruhi. I'm sure Renge still thinks that she is still a he because. . ."

"MOE!!! KYAA~!"

"There you go," Kyoya said.

"What the heck happened to you?" Hikaru asked as the host club was finally over. Haruhi's and Tamaki's clothes were untidy. Tamaki was still unconscious and Haruhi had far enough of the sticky thing. She could not understand why their bodies kept on sticking with each other. "I – well – this may sound weird – but my hand is stuck with Senpai's face and I can't get it off!"

"Really?"

"Yes, I noticed that when Tamaki grew closer to you when you arrived earlier."

"Yeah, it is weird if Haruhi would touch the lord's face like that."

"Let's see," Hunny peered at Haruhi's hand being stuck. He tried to pull it away but it always goes back. Hikaru poked the sleeping Tamaki and then, grabbed Haruhi's waist as he and Kaoru pulled her away. Mori also grabbed Kaoru's body and pulled them with all his strength. Haruhi flinched and Hikaru gave a sign that they should stop. Then, Tamaki's eyes were moving; slowly, he opened his eyes. He first scratched his blonde head and then, gazed at the entire host club. He then realized that Haruhi's hand was still on his cheek and she was not looking well. Fire was coming from Tamaki's eyes. "What did you do to me and my daughter?"

"You might want to answer that yourself, Tamaki." Kyoya said abruptly. "Why is Haruhi's body keep sticking with yours?"

Tamaki gazed down at his rose and then, at Haruhi. He could not possibly tell them something impossible especially if they could not see the rose. He had to get out of this one, but how?


	5. Secret within Tamaki's wish

_By the way, before chappie 5 begins, I would like to remind my dear readers that I would not be able to update more often starting next week, I guess, since I would be back again to school. I'm certain that our instructors would give us a lot of things to do since there were a lot of days the classes were suspended._

_Anyway, I would still do my best to keep you all updated of the story. Thanks again for the reviews. Enjoy your reading!_

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Haruhi and Tamaki were walking at the empty street, all alone, holding hands. They were headed to Fujioka's residence. It was a windy afternoon and the sun sets down at the west. "It was a good thing you have an extra uniform at the Academy." Haruhi finally spoke amidst the awkward silence.

Tamaki smiled a bit, "Y – Yes, I always bring an extra. Anyway, Haruhi, are you sure about this? How about Ranka-san?"

"Well, we can't help it." Haruhi said. "Our bodies seem inseparable at the moment. I'm just glad they weren't tailing around." Haruhi turned around to check if there were any of the host club members who were following them, to her relief, none have. She turned her large, brown eyes back to Tamaki and went on, "By the way, you did make a good cover-up for this thing." She showed her hands sticking with Tamaki's.

"Uh – _that_, I just – well, Kyoya's pretty scary if he really gets mad especially if he wakes up on the wrong side of the bed. Good thing I made up something." Tamaki grinned stupidly as he swung his and Haruhi's arms like they were children walking hand in hand and innocent of the world out there. "Besides being with you at this moment, I would like to –" Tamaki chuckled and slightly flushed before he spoke again, "to thank you for standing up for me earlier."

"Standing up for you? I really don't recall doing anything like that." Haruhi looked at the sky as she thought of what she did earlier. They were near her home, only a few steps away.

"Oh, you look so cute when you act all innocent!!" Tamaki said blissfully as he raised Haruhi like a child and embraced her in his wide arms. She could hear his heart beating rapidly as she was close to his chest. She pushed him gently, "I'm not playing innocent. I just can't really – uh, recall what I did that made you say that I was standing up for you."

"Okay, let your Daddy remind you then! But before that, let's enter the Fujioka residence!" Tamaki said as he marched at the gate of the residence. They both came to a halt once they were in front of the gate. Haruhi groped for her keys but realized that it was on her other pocket, where Tamaki's hands were. She placed her right hand (the one that was free) on Tamaki's chest and as expected, her hand became stuck on his chest and her left hand was finally free. She groped for her keys in her pocket; Tamaki took her right hand and held it.

* * *

"Well, Ha – Haruhi and Daddy made a promise with each other." Tamaki said looking at Kyoya's judging eyes. He gulped and added, "And it's a father-daughter thing so you don't need to worry about it."

"You haven't answered my question, Tamaki." Kyoya's eyes disappeared from the spectacles. Tamaki shivered and hid behind Haruhi.

"I – I am not finished yet," Tamaki mumbled. "I made Haruhi promise not to separate from Daddy from this point on. So there, I poured something on her arms so that she would always stick with me."

_One. . . Two. . . THREE!!_

SPLASH.

"WH – WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Tamaki growled. His whole body was soaking wet. He looked down on his clothes; and then glared at the twins, who were whistling as if they did nothing. Haruhi was only splattered by droplets.

"What else, my lord?" Kaoru placed his arm around Hikaru and threw the bucket away. Hunny and Mori quickly ducked to avoid the empty bucket.

"To know if you are telling the truth," Hikaru grinned.

"What did you two do that for? We are not playing games here!" Haruhi said abruptly as she scratched her eyes that were sprinkled with water.

"Oh, Haruhi, you don't need to get mad at us. We were only trying to help." Hikaru said as he placed his arms around Haruhi's shoulders to see if she would also stick with him. _Help means you are making things worse. _Haruhi thought as she shook Hikaru's shoulders off; Tamaki was heavy enough. Then, she suddenly felt a fiery aura behind her and saw that Tamaki's clear, blue eyes (thanks for correcting me, you know who you are;p ) were raging with fire. "W – What did you just do to my daughter?!"

"What? I didn't do anything, my lord." Hikaru said who was slowly moving away. Then, Tamaki quickly stood from his seat and slipped on the ground. His face hit the ground so hard that he looked like he was kissed by Haruhi unexpectedly. He recovered from his slippery and stood up once again to chase after Hikaru and again, dragging poor Haruhi from behind. They chased round and round and round until. . . _It would only stop if either of them slips again. _Haruhi thought; her eyes were swirling round and round. She could not take it any longer; it has to stop. Then, at the exact time she had given thought to it, to her relief, Tamaki slipped once again because of his wet clothes and shoes. The twins roared with laughter; Hunny, Mori and Kyoya were observing their idiotic lord being manipulated by the twins once again.

* * *

"So, that's it." Haruhi said as she pushed the gate open. "By the way, senpai? I also wanted to ask you if you know what's behind this odd thing that's been happening to us. Did you already wish for something?" Haruhi eyed him; for sure, he was not going to get away with it, not with his hands on hers.

Tamaki gazed at her anxiously; he was afraid that she might notice that it was his doing that made their bodies stick with each other. Haruhi heard him gulped; there was sweat all over his face and then, he turned his eyes away from hers. _Obviously, he knows something about this odd thing that's been happening to us and he's still not saying anything._ Haruhi thought irritably. "Senpai, d – did you just wished for something like this?! What the heck were you THINKING?"

"N – No, Haruhi, l – listen to me first." Tamaki was biting his nails. He could not bear to argue with his dear Haruhi, not this time that they were all alone at last.

"I _am_ listening!"

Tamaki told her the exact words that he wished to the rose last night. Haruhi's eyes widened as she heard what he had wished for. Her face darkened when he was finished explaining. She started imagining all the things that she would do while Tamaki was around: **sleeping** (_Senpai would probably stay all night watching over me. He would give me the creeps if he remains 24/7 awake and observe me all night. _Haruhi imagined Tamaki becoming grimer as he watch Haruhi sleep every night, just to keep her safe from harm.), **eating** (_He would let me eat those luxurious foods until I get full enough. _Haruhi gazed at the ceiling, imagining herself eating a lot of food that she barely knew and being laughed at by those rich bastards.), **bathing** (_Definitely not! He would not dare come close to me or he will never see the sun rise again!_), **studying** (_How am I suppose to review quietly when he's around doing all those things to grab my attention?_ "Haruhi, Haruhi, look at this! Is this a commoner food?", "Oh, what about this: Let's have a tea party at the host club!" Then, she pictured that Tamaki was gazing at her with his sad, puppy eyes, begging for her to agree with him._ I would not be able to do my homework as well even though I go to the library since he's always there, wherever I go._) Haruhi became so silent all of the sudden. Tamaki tried to talk to her but all he got was a glare. She got really pissed off that she did not say a word. There was a small, yellow post-it at the front door; it came from her father. He had gone off a trip. He had been invited by a fashion artist somewhere in Japan that there would be a display of different fashion trends on America. Being a cross-dresser, Haruhi was not surprise of the note. Instead, she smiled a bit and placed the letter in her pocket. _At least, father would not question me why I brought Tamaki-senpai home, holding him hand in hand. _She slammed the door so hard that Tamaki jumped in astonishment. She removed her shoes irritably and wore her slippers. Tamaki have done the same.

Haruhi was about to walk further when he gripped her hand tightly. She came to a halt; she turned to him with her eyes blazing with fire. "Don't talk to me." Haruhi muttered.

"And why not? We are the only ones in here! Yes, it's my fault this is what happened to us! But I did not want for us to be stuck like this! I only wished that we would be together forever!" Tamaki exclaimed; his eyes gazed at Haruhi's. "Is it wrong to wish for myself, for at least once in my life?"

_What an idiot. _Haruhi thought. She took a deep breath before she spoke, "You should've wished to see your mother, instead of being with me!" To Haruhi's astonishment, Tamaki grabbed her waist and embraced her in his arms. She had not realized that both of their backpack fell on the ground slowly. She could not even hear every sound around her; all she heard was his voice. "I knew that you would say something like that." Haruhi's brown eyes widened as she heard those words. "You know what? I still believe that I would see my mother again. But, being with you," She felt him sigh. "I believe that there's a small hope that I could win your heart with a lot of competitors around. I'm so afraid that one day, I would see you walk away – wi – with another man. I can't see that day that I would lose you, that I would lose everyone else I cared about, even the host club."

"Baka." Haruhi muttered. She had her eyes covered with her small bangs; she knew how it felt to lose someone she cared about and even though she wanted to see her mother again, there was no way she could bring her mother back. Her mother was out of her reach and probably, that was what Tamaki feared the most that she, Haruhi, would sooner or later be out of his reach and never to return. "If you're just afraid of that, then let me tell you that I'm not going anywhere!" The words just slipped out of her lips; she quickly held her lips, astounded to what she had said. Tamaki opened his eyes and pushed her gently. He gazed at her beautiful eyes. He held her face and whispered softly on her ears.

_Then, stay with me..._

Haruhi laid her head down on Tamaki's broad shoulders and closed her eyes. She thought that if this was a sweet dream, she would not want to wake up. Silence filled amidst the house. Haruhi could hear Tamaki's heartbeat getting calmer and calmer until he finally released her from his tight embrace. He picked up his backpack as well as Haruhi's. He handed it over to her. Then, to his astonishment, he dropped it again and it fell right on his feet. "YIKES! OUCH!!" Tamaki yelled.

"Senpai, what's the matter with you th –" Haruhi stopped; she, too have noticed something odd. Their bodies were not sticking with each other any more, they could finally move freely without dragging the other. They have just realized it after their long, tight embrace. Could the wishing rose have heard Haruhi's thoughts and decided to let them go so that Haruhi would not get angry at Tamaki? Or was it something else? Haruhi looked at her hands and tried to open and close them as if she had never had a human body before. She had not noticed that Tamaki was jumping as he cried for his feet; it was starting to swell. "Ha –Haruhi, where could I get some ice? My feet are aching." Haruhi seemed to have realized that she was with Tamaki that she quickly took her things and brought it in her room, and then, scampered to the kitchen to get some ice. She gave the ice bag at Tamaki, who was sitting at the corridor and holding his feet. "Senpai, are you – er – still going to stay here?" Haruhi mumbled timidly. She does not want to offend him; however, she also does not want the situation to happen again. Then, the pair of them heard the roar of the thunder. Tamaki gazed at the ceiling and then, at Haruhi. "Yes, I don't think it's a good time to leave you all alone."

"All alone?!" Haruhi repeated; there was something in those words that caught her bewildered. She gazed at the rose on Tamaki's pocket. "Senpai, why do you think the rose stopped doing its odd sticking thing to us? Was it because of something we said? Or was it because. . ."

"We are all alone?" Tamaki continued. "Probably, that's the reason it kept us together because there were lot of people around who wants to be with both of us and just to be sure that. . ."

"No one else would come between us or would steal us, the rose did this. And now that we are all alone, it separated us once again." Haruhi said thoughtfully. The pair of them stared at the wishing rose on Tamaki's pocket, wondering if the rose itself had its own thoughts. Another petal falls again to the ground.

The clear afternoon sky was replaced by those dark clouds; behind those clouds were flashes of lightning and roars of thunder. Haruhi bit her lip as gazed at the window nearby. There was another thunderstorm coming; for some reason, she felt glad that Tamaki was there to stay with her.


	6. Haruhi & the Prince

_Yay! Our finals are finally over and vacation is finally here! I'll be able to update more often. Sorry it took awhile; I did tell you readers that I would be busy from the past few weeks right? Well, here's the long wait._

* * *

"Haruhi?" Tamaki called. He was at the bathroom, taking his clothes off. His white skin shone at the mirror as he gazed at his wonderful self. He even blinked at himself imagining that Haruhi was his reflection. He wore the clothes that Haruhi had given him to wear for the night; it was her father's clothes. "Haruhi?" He repeated; his voice echoed around the room. There was still no answer. _She was probably busy fixing her things or something. Or is it possible that she stuck herself under the table again since there are thunderstorms present? _Tamaki slid the door of the bathroom open and went out. He had Ranka's old set of pajamas; it was mint green from top to bottom. He held his uniform close to him as he looked around the quiet house. It was his first time to be alone and real alone with his daughter.

Then, lightning struck once again. The lights started to flicker. Tamaki walked around to look for Haruhi. He did not want her to be hiding in the closet again, frightened and alone. He slid each door of the room, finding them empty. Another lightning came and the lights went out. Tamaki called Haruhi's name in the dark; however, no one responded. He groped for the next room he had not opened. And as the lightning stroke, he saw Haruhi at the corner of the room, hiding beneath the blanket. He could see her trembling underneath it. He closely walked towards her, mentioning her name gently. He placed his arms on her shoulders and said, "I'll stay with you all night. Don't worry, I'm here." Haruhi nodded as she closed her eyes. She laid her head at Tamaki's shoulders and felt safe. Slowly, her eyes fell down and went into a deep slumber. Tamaki smiled as he laid his head close to his Haruhi and kissed her head. He patted her short brown hair until he was able to sleep.

Morning came and the electricity went back to normal. Haruhi felt the warmth of the sun and slowly opened her eyes. Her back seem to ache; she recalled that she was in a sitting position when she had fallen asleep. She was searching for a book last night that she was not able to read it. The book was opened at the table of contents and she closed it before she stood up. At the bathroom, Haruhi faced the mirror and brushed her long, straight, brown hair. Then, she took a bath and wore her old uniform: the navy blue one, the uniform she had worn on her Primary years. She took her books and placed it in a basket. She peered at Ranka, who had his room in mess again: clothes and fashion magazines were scattered everywhere. She shook her head and bid her father goodbye. Haruhi was headed to the market. She had a basket on her right arm. She hummed on her way to the market place.

Haruhi first made a stop at the public library, where she usually borrows her favorite books. The owner of the shop, an old but amiable man had always liked Haruhi being his everyday customer.

"Ohayou, I've come to return the book I borrowed." Haruhi greeted. The old man pushed his small spectacles to the bridge of his nose and grinned at her. He took the book and returned it to its shelf.

"Finished already? Now, what do you want to borrow this time?" the old man chuckled. It seemed that she already read all the books from his library since she was always borrowing without missing a single day of the week.

"Oh, I'd like the one about prince who have come to rescue his princess or was it the other way around?" Haruhi recalled. She scanned at the books at the shelf. The old man grinned and handed it over to her. She had been borrowing that same book for many times. It had a light pink cover with roses around the title. The prince and the princess who were in the front cover were vaguely familiar: the prince had a blonde hair, blue eyes and handsome face. He had his hand holding the chin of the princess. The princess had a short brown hair; large, brown eyes and a timid-looking face. She was holding the prince's face with her other hand.

"If you really like it, then, I say it is yours." The old man finally said after Haruhi have dazed in a dream. Every time she gazed at the picture, she always had pictured it was her and her prince. Then, upon realizing what the old man had said, Haruhi's eyes kept blinking, as if she wanted to hear more. "I'm sorry, Haruhi, that's all I could offer you. I cannot possibly give you all my books."

"Oh," Haruhi bit her lip. She was asking for too much. "Thank you, thank you very much!!" She shook the old man's hands and headed to the marketplace. She placed the book she had just borrowed in her basket. She sighed as she made her way to the food stand. The marketplace was full of noisy but blissful people: singing, yelling, dancing, selling, bargaining and many, many more. _It was always like this. Nothing's ever going to change. _Haruhi thought. She bought what her budget could and left the marketplace. She was reading the book she just borrowed while she was heading back to her house. Then, Kasunoda came into picture. He took the book away from Haruhi and threw it away. He had his scary eyes again, gazing at Haruhi. Everyone around froze except her.

She placed her arms around her waist and asked, "What is it, this time, Kasunoda-senpai?"

"Books are for bookworms." He said in a mocking way. "You should stop reading; it's not a very good trait of a girl, to be intelligent."

"Why is that?"

"Ugh. . ." Kasunoda found it hard to explain. Then, he walked away and laughed hysterically. "Soon enough, you'd be my bride." Steam came out from his body that he was as red as his hair.

Haruhi shook her head. She took her book and wiped the dirt away. She rolled her eyes as she sat at the grass field. The wind was whispering on her ears; her long, brown hair was flying away and the flower petals were flying with the wind. "What's he supposed to mean by those words anyway? He doesn't make any sense."

"Haruhi?" Ranka called.

"Yes?" Haruhi came out of the kitchen; she was busy preparing for dinner.

"I'm going away for awhile. I need to meet a friend out of town. Is it alright to leave you alone?" Ranka asked. He had his hair tied into a pony; he had his pink blouse, white trousers and pink slippers. He had a huge bag at his back. It seemed that he had made up his mind without her knowledge.

"Oh, aren't you going to eat dinner before you leave? It's the least that I could do." Haruhi offered. "It'll soon be ready. Can you wait?"

"Okay then, I can't really leave on an empty stomach anyway." Ranka shrugged.

"Are you really in a hurry?" Haruhi asked as she gave him a plate. Ranka accepted it and gazed at his daughter who had a concerned look. "Y – Yes, it can't wait."

"What is it about? You haven't even told me about it." Haruhi served the curry. The aroma spread throughout the room. "You haven't told me why you have to leave at this time of night just to get there. Can't it wait until morning?"

Ranka did not respond and it made Haruhi uneasy. It was not like her father to keep something away from her. So why would he keep a secret this time when they have been open to one another for a long time?

"Thank you for the meal." Ranka said as he stood up. Haruhi opened the door for him. To her astonishment, he embraced his daughter in his arms and whispered, "I'll be back tomorrow morning. So, take care of yourself."

"Y – Yes, I will. Take care, too." Haruhi closed her eyes and embraced her father back. Then, she bid him farewell and good luck as he slowly became smaller and smaller from her sight. Somewhere in her heart, there was this uneasy feeling that something could go wrong, although she was hoping it was only a false intuition.


	7. Haruhi & the Prince: The Day We Met

_Sorry readers. I did tell you before that I was going to update more often. Sorry I disappointed you! There's been a computer problem, so I just wrote down the next chapter and hoped I could type it as fast as I could when the computer is ok. And there you have it, the next chappie! Ever wondered why Tamaki was not inside Haruhi's house? Find out for yourselves!_

* * *

As the night continued to pass by, Haruhi became more and more restless of her father's condition. Surely, he would call her once he had reached the said place he and his friend would meet. She tossed and turned in her sleep. In addition to that, the weather seemed to have imitated Haruhi's mood that it became cloudy. Cold breeze have entered her room. She sat up and glanced by the window; she could see that the dark sky have turned a bit red and the light that she was so terrified to see have flashed behind those dark, red clouds. She took the blanket on her toes and hid underneath it. Once inside, she covered both of her ears. Under her blanket, she had a flashlight and a book, to distract her from her worried thoughts. She took the flashlight and turned it on. She held it on her right hand. Her folded legs were closed tightly and were near her chest. The book was almost at her feet, waiting to be read.

Slowly, as she read the first 3 words, she became absorbed by the book. The roaring of the thunder behind the clouds, the flickering of the lights and the queasy feeling about her father seemed to have gone for awhile.

Before Haruhi could reach chapter 4, her eyes were not the only one that was telling her to go to sleep: her back was aching and her hands were turning numb. She had to read the next chapter the following morning. She turned off the flashlight and drew the book closer to her chest and curled up under the covers.

Morning came; still, there was no text or call from Ranka. _He must be really busy. _Haruhi thought. She stretched her arms wide and yawned. _I should wait for him until night or better yet – just call him right now._ She picked up her mobile phone and searched for her father's name to appear. She pressed the button where the word call was. It rang.

At the 3rd Music Room of the Ouran castle, everything was pitch-black. The only light was coming from the midst of the room; it was focused on Ranka. He was seated on a throne with his hands tied with a rope and his mouth covered in handkerchief. "My lord, what should we do? Someone is calling him." a voice said in the dark. It did not sound harsh or cold; it sounded more like naughty. It took Ranka's phone and handed it to his master.

"Who is this?" the master asked. His arms slowly appeared from the dark as he showed Ranka who was calling; Haruhi's name was flashing at the LCD screen. Ranka quickly looked away; if he gave away Haruhi's real relationship with him they would use her too. "Sh – She's a friend whom I should meet tomorrow morning."

"He's lying. I can tell." Another voice said from the dark. Ranka jumped from his seat and shivered by the sound of the voice; it was cold than the first one who spoke. "Pick it up; I'm sure we'll find out soon enough." The same arm was about to return the phone to Ranka when. . . PACK!

"What did you do that for?" a crying voice said; it was the same voice who asked Ranka who the caller was.

"Idiot! You answer it, not him! He'll call for help once he gets his hands on that phone!" the cold voice exclaimed. It seemed that he had hit his master with something hard. That was an odd scene from a master and a friend or a servant.

"H – Hello?"

"H – Hello, Dad? Who is this?" (_Correct me if that's the way Haruhi calls her father. Or is it 'Father'?)_

"It's – mmff – _what?_" The lights went on. The music room was large and empty. There was a table and 6 chairs near Ranka. Six, young, handsome men were standing around him. The one holding the phone was Prince Tamaki Suoh; he had a long, blonde hair tied into a pony with cerulean-colored ribbon and blue eyes. He had a navy blue top, plain white trousers; black boots and midnight blue cape. The other 5 men were wearing tuxedos of different colors; their trousers were all white like their master. Hikaru and Kaoru Hitachiin, the devil type twins had azure and dandelion-colored tuxedos. They had light orange hair with their hair flying on opposite sides. They were a little shorter than the Prince. They were standing beside the door, where the switch of the light was. Kyoya Ootori, the cool type, was Prince Tamaki's adviser; he had a tidy black hair, bespectacled eyes and a stern expression on his face. He was wearing a purple tuxedo. On his right hand, he was holding his record book. It seemed that it was the one he had used to hit the prince on the head. He had released the prince's lips and glanced at Ranka with his sharp and cruel eyes. Ranka started to perspire heavily and quickly looked away. The smallest man among the group was Mitsukuni Haninotsuka or known as Honey for short, the lolli-shota type, who had a short blonde hair, large brown and bubbly eyes and sweet tooth. His tuxedo was orange-colored. He was seated on Mori's shoulders, waving his Usa-chan as if he was enjoying what has been happening at the moment. Takashi Morinotsuka or known as Mori to others and Takashi to Honey, was the silent type. He was tallest and most slilent among the group. He usually had his expressionless face and would respond to questions answerable by yes or no. He was holding Honey by the foot. They were standing at Ranka's right side.

"Don't reveal your identity." Kyoya said.

"_I know that!_" Prince Tamaki whispered and then, he made his voice on normal volume again as he spoke to Haruhi. "Is this a friend of Ranka-san's?"

"N – No," Haruhi responded; she was offended with the way she was asked. But then, he was a stranger afterall, so she should not be astonished of his question. "It is his daughter, Haruhi. What happened to my Dad? Who is this?" Kyoya, Hikaru and Kaoru glared at Ranka, who became smaller and smaller until he reached the size of the dirt.

"It is none of your concern who I am. Your father is safe and sound." Prince Tamaki assured.

"How are you sure he _is _safe?!" Haruhi exclaimed. Prince Tamaki was forced to move the phone away from his delicate ears.

"Here, talk to him." Prince Tamaki said gently. He handed that phone to Ranka and Mori untied the handkerchief on his lips. As soon as his lips were free to speak, he blurted out, "HARUHI! DON'T LISTEN TO THEM! DON'T SAVE ME! I'LL BE FINE! THEY LOOK LIKE FINE MEN BUT LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING! I DON'T THINK THEY HAVE GOOD INTENTIONS!" Prince Tamaki took the phone away from him and looked bewildered.

"He is well. You could come here if you want to see him. My servants would pick you up." Prince Tamaki offered. He twirled the long part of his hair on his fingers.

"N – No, it's okay. Just tell me where he is. I could manage on my own." Haruhi said firmly; she pressed her ears close to her phone and listened intently. She took a pen and a paper as she jotted down what the prince was saying. "Y – Yes, tell me, what do you want in exchange for his freedom?"

"We will discuss the matters once you arrive. I suggest you wear something formal for our meeting." Prince Tamaki said.

"Right," Haruhi said in a bored voice. "Is that all?"

"Yes, that is all. I'll be wai –"

_CLICK._

Haruhi marched in her room to change her attire. She gazed at her reflection by the mirror: she had a lavender dress witn an empire cut. It had a ¾ bell-like sleeves and it had a ribbon at the back. She wore plain white step ins for her toes. She brushed her straight hair and then, turned her back at the mirror. Then, she packed necessary things and placed it in her bag.

"– ing. Eh? She's gone?" Prince Tamaki sat by a chair nearby, where he and his men were drinking coffee and eating sweets awhile ago, before Ranka trespassed. He poured the coffee into his cup and placed a cubed sugar in it. Then, he mixed it as he gazed at his reflection. He took a sip and then, glanced at the direction where his friends were. They were making fun of Ranka. Kyoya was busy watching the whole group. Hikaru and Kaoru were laughing behind Ranka's back. Honey was seated at Ranka's lap, forcing him to eat the cake. Mori still had his expressionless face. "P – Please, don't!!!"

"It doesn't have poison in it. Look." Hikaru said as he pulled his brother's chin and let him eat. Kaoru slowly opened his lips as Hikaru lets the cake enter his lips. Kaoru chewed it and swallowed and the twins went into a pose that nothing happened to them. Not yet convinced, Honey used his cute charm and later on, Ranka finally gave in. His eyes sparkled as he tasted the sweetness of the cake. He had never tasted anything like it before.

"I'm glad you like it!" Honey beamed. "Now, let's eat together with Usa-chan!"

"Kyoya, where are you going?" Prince Tamaki asked; his voice sounded alert.

"I'm going to meet Fujioka's daughter by the door." Kyoya said coolly.

"Wait! I'd like to do that!"

"No, it's better for you to stay here and wait. That's what Princes do, right?" The door clicked and Prince Tamaki fell silent.

"Finally, I'm here." Haruhi stared at the Ouran castle. It was oddly familiar. Then, she looked down on her dirty clothes. "Darn it, my dress is all dirty because of that so-called eerie forest!" She was standing by the front door of the castle, wiping the dirt away from her lavender dress. She even had small cuts on her cheek, arms, and legs. The huge metal door of the Ouran Castle slowly creaked open. A tall fine man was standing beneath the doorway, as if expecting for Haruhi's arrival.

"Welcome, Haruhi Fujioka." Kyoya greeted; there was something in his voice Haruhi disliked. Haruhi smiled faintly as she stepped inside the castle. A red arrow seemed to be pointing at a particular object nearby. Kyoya stared at her from head to foot. "You probably need a change of clothes before meeting His Highness. Probably worth. . ."

"N – No, it's fine. I just ne –"

"Follow me." Kyoya insisted. He walked straight, following the hallway flooring that was covered in red carpet. There were paintings and scary-looking sculptures each side Haruhi laid her eyes on. The red arrow kept blinking at the object. Haruhi was getting near it. She caught the glimpse of the weather outside; the red curtains were all riped apart by something large, sharp and creepy. The weather seemed to have read her emotions again. Lightning stroke and Haruhi held her arms and shivered.

Haruhi stopped walking and slowly, stepped backward. She was searching for a place to hide when Kyoya noticed her.

"What are you doing?" Kyoya asked. Haruhi jumped in astonishment that her feet accidentally bumped into a tall, vertical, black stand in which a large blue vase was placed. She tried to reach for it but it was too late. The vase slowly – only, to Haruhi's point of view – fell to the ground and broke into pieces.

"Oho! That's not very nice." A soft voice came from the dark. Haruhi perspired as she turned her back from where she had heard the voice.

"Our lord will not be very pleased for what you've done." Another voice spoke; however, this time the voice was a bit deeper. It came from her front.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, tell the prince about it." Kyoya's tone of voice changed. He turned to Haruhi, "As for you, we'll deal with it later on. For now, you need to be presentable."

Haruhi gulped and nodded obediently. She would not want to argue any longer, especiall now that she had broken one of their precious possessions. Kyoya turned right and headed for the stairs and Haruhi glanced at the two young men who just disappeared before her sight. "Do you want to increase your debt? You have the whole castle to search for something to break."

"N – No, I'm coming!" Haruhi replied abruptly. She was cursing Kyoya under her breath.

"You should get used in what you are seeing around here." Kyoya spoke as if pretending not to hear what Haruhi was saying. Then, he lowered his voice as he went on, "Since you would stay here for a bit longer."

"What? Are you saying something?"

"No, here's your room. Feel free to choose what you wear. We would be waiting for you at the 3rd Music Room." Kyoya pointed at the name of the Music room; it was 5 rooms away from where they were. Haruhi watched Kyoya walked away. _How rude. He didn't even introduce himself._

"I don't need to, Haruhi, you already know me." Kyoya responded. Haruhi felt a cold chill at her nape. _How weird. This person could read thoughts?_

Haruhi shook her head and slowly turned the doorknob. She was fascinated by the room she was in. It was larger than her room. It had marbled flooring and cream-colored wallpaper. There were huge windows facing her. When she turned her head to the right and she saw a huge white wooden closet. Beside it was a comfortable bed with white background and cream swirls scattered around it. There were compact powders, eyeliners, blush on and lipsticks lying on it. Haruhi pulled the closet door open and saw glamorous dresses inside. She shook her head each time her eyes passed by a shimmering dress; she does not want to wear something that would draw too much attention. She sighed as she gazed at her ruined dress; if it were not for those tree branches at the forest, her dress would not be ruined. Finally, she found it. A sleeveless pink dress with a red fake rose on the right side of the spaghetti strap. Then, she wiped her cuts with her handkerchief and looked at the mirror. She saw the same simple Haruhi looking back at her. "Let's go and save Dad from those horrible men." Then, she walked out of the room and headed to the 3rd Music Room. Slowly, she opened its door and found rose petals flying toward her direction along with the gentlemen's voices saying, "WELCOME."

Haruhi blinked twice. _They do look fine men but why would they welcome me if they are – _Haruhi's thoughts were crushed. Her father was among the men who had greeted her. He was wearing a maroon tuxedo with his long hair tied into a pony with a small maroon ribbon. Haruhi became frozen by the moment. Hikaru and Kaoru fanned her so the ice would melt. "I think she needs some air."

"Oh, Haruhi, Haruhi, it's me your Dad! They have done nothing wrong with me. Look, it's still me!" Ranka took off his tuxedo and let Haruhi see the real Ranka: he was wearing his old clothes underneath. The ice seemed to have melted and Haruhi pulled her father aside. She gazed at the 5 young men, who were covering their prince. "What do you want in exchange for Dad's freedom?"

The twins moved aside – Haruhi knew that they were the ones she saw awhile ago. The one Kyoya referred to as Hikaru and Kaoru – Honey and Mori walked separate ways, leaving Kyoya as the only one covering the prince. He walked away slowly and made way for Haruhi to see this prince. Prince Tamaki had his legs crossed and his arms on the arms of his throne. He stood up and offered a rose to Haruhi as he whispered to her ears, "You."


	8. Haruhi & the Prince: Welcome, Haruhi!

_Did you already notice what I was asking you from the previous chapter? Hmm, not yet?_

_Read it well, I'm sure you'll get what I'm saying here._

_Thanks for your continuous support and reviews! ;p A simple review could really brighten my day, you know that? Anyway, here's the next chappie! Sad to say, but the next semester is coming up and I'd be really, really busy! But I do hope that I'd be able to update during the weekends. *cross fingers*_

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There was a cold silence amidst the 3rd Music Room of the Ouran Castle. Haruhi could not budge from her position. Everything was happening so fast. "M – Me?!" You don't want m – money?!" Haruhi asked; bewildered to hear the response she got from Prince Tamaki. But then, she thought deep inside, _Of course, they're already rich, those bastards! What do they want from me? They wouldn't get anything!"_

"No, we don't. We have enough of that, thank you." Prince Tamaki said. "As for the debt for the broken vase and trespassing of your father – Haruhi shot an angry glance at Ranka – you would have to stay here and be my princess, or else, you would be my wife."

"WHAT?!" Haruhi and Ranka exclaimed in unison.

"N – No, anything but that!" Ranka begged.

Prince Tamaki went on, ignoring Ranka's begging. "You would treat me as your prince and you would also let my guests believe you are mine. You will host and entertain them. From now on, you are _my _princess." He held Haruhi's hands and gazed at her large eyes. She blinked and then, noticed that her poor father was weeping. She turned to her father and told him that everything would be alright.

"Can I come and visit her every now and then?" Ranka asked, teary-eyed.

"Yes, as long as you have money." Kyoya added. "You will be one of her guests starting tomorrow. Her training will start this afternoon."

"Wh – What training?" Haruhi muttered.

"You'll find out. . ." Hikaru held her left arm.

"Soon enough. . ." Kaoru held her right arm.

"What're you two doing with my princess?! Let go of her!" Prince Tamaki exclaimed.

"Ah, you're already acting like she's yours already, hmm?" Kyoya teased. Prince Tamaki's face became so steamed up that he would explode any minute now.

"I don't belong to anyone else, okay?" Haruhi said irritably and shook off the twins' arms.

"You can leave now." the prince suddenly said; he made a gesture to Honey and Mori. The pair nodded in agreement as they stood next to Ranka; closing their fists and letting their knuckles make a sound. "If you don't want to be dragged away, leave willingly."

"I will see him off." Haruhi volunteered; she pulled Ranka's shoulders up. The two slowly walked away from the Music Room. The twins were about to trail them when the prince blocked their way.

"My lord, she could escape with her father."

"They could get away right now."

"No, she won't." Prince Tamaki said in his calm voice.

"My, my, what loyalty you have for Princess Haruhi, Tamaki." Kyoya said. "You really have feelings for her even in a dream."

"What do you mean?!" Prince Tamaki exclaimed. "I was j – just –"

"I will be fine. I can take care of myself." Haruhi assured. She embraced her father tightly. "I will contact you if something happens." Ranka nodded and closed his eyes. He knew that his daughter had grown up to be an independent person. He shook her head and smiled as he slowly walked away. "See you tomorrow!" Haruhi waved and Ranka waved back.

Haruhi returned to the 3rd Music Room and found it dark. _Where could they be? I thought I'm here to pay a debt? What the heck do they want from me?_ Haruhi thought; she held the doorknob and was about to get out when a hand held hers. Haruhi froze for a second and then, the lights went on. It was Prince Tamaki and he was all alone. His servants must have left him. "Hi, Haruhi," Prince Tamaki greeted. "I knew you wouldn't run away with your dad."

Haruhi turned around and found herself face to face with the prince. It felt suddenly awkward without knowing why. "Why would I run away, _Your Highness?_"

"Oh, nothing, really," Prince Tamaki chuckled; there was something in his voice that made Haruhi wonder why the prince seemed so pleased to her when in fact, she had ruined one of his possessions. He held Haruhi's chin and went on, "Yes, I'm known as a prince around this castle but I want you to address me by my name. It's Tamaki Suoh."

"Tamaki senpai?"

"Er – Tamaki is enough. Really, Haruhi, even in dreams you are still courteous." Prince Tamaki said. "Anyway, why don't we begin?"

"Begin what? Where are your servants?" Haruhi asked; feeling suddenly perplexed what he was saying.

"Argh! Are you insulting us, Princess? We are NEVER his servants!" an angry voice bellowed around the room, although there was no one else around them.

"Where did that voice come from? It seemed that we are being watched from afar. Is that a mike?" Haruhi eyed the prince. Prince Tamaki bit his fingers anxiously and looked around like he did not know where the voice came from.

"Still the old Haruhi, eh?" a voice whispered in the dark. The rest of the group nodded in agreement. They were somewhere below the Music Room, spying their master alone with his princess. "N – Never mind them," Prince Tamaki said. "What matters is we're together right now, okay? Now, let's begin your training. Let's see how you act when you're in public."

"Eh? My manners are well, thank you. I don't need someone to teach me that!" Haruhi exclaimed, sounding highly offended. Suddenly, a shadow came past her and gave her something. The shadow ran away and then, she noticed that she was holding something; it was a wine glass filled with water. She gazed at it and then, turned to Prince Tamaki; he was nodding his head. _This is stupid. _Haruhi thought. The rim of the wine glass slowly touched her lips as she drank the cold water slowly. When she had enough she placed it down on her hands and the prince looked crushed. "What?"

"No, no, no, NO!!!" Prince Tamaki exclaimed. "You shouldn't drink that way! It's too natural! You should do this. . ." He took the wine glass away from her and showed her how to hold it properly and so on and so forth. Haruhi became bored that she was thinking deeply for a right word to describe what he was doing.

"What is the word again?" Haruhi said; ignoring the word the prince was saying and demonstrating. "Hmm. . ."

". . . Like this." Prince Tamaki placed the wine glass down and Haruhi finally got the word. She placed her fist on her palm and said, "Oh, yes, it's obnoxious." Prince Tamaki's ears grew like an elephant upon hearing it. He suddenly froze from his position.

Prince Tamaki seemed to have recovered completely after two shadows fanned him and another shadow put his soul back when it was flying away from his body. After those shadows muttered something to him and left in a second, he gazed at Haruhi with more interest. "Let's continue. Oh, yes, about my guests and about you being my princess. You should know very well how to entertain a guest. Your dress would always go together with what I wear."

Haruhi said nothing. Prince Tamaki went on, "You would have to make them believe you are mine. No, actually, we don't need to pretend about our relationship. It's supposed to be real."

"How can it be real when we've just met?" Haruhi disputed.

"Hmm. . . You got a point." Prince Tamaki was thinking thoroughly. "Well, we just have to get along and get to know each other as time goes by. I'm sure you won't realize the time if you're enjoying it." He winked. Haruhi rolled her eyes dully.

"Can't we have the guests some other time? You know, until at least we have known each other? It would be _really_ obvious that we barely knew each other and yet we have this relationship." Haruhi pointed out.

"That would add more days to your stay here." Kyoya's voice echoed; Haruhi could hear him scribbling something. "As well as increase your debt."

"Wha – What?!" Haruhi exclaimed; she shook her head and waved her arms away. "Okay, fine. Let the guests come tomorrow and we'll just see what happens."

"Oh no," the ground started moving; an opening appeared at the middle of the Music room. It was circling upward and Kyoya was standing on top of it, along with the rest of the group. "We'll just see what happens when you don't follow what we want."

"We can't let you manipulate us. You're ours from now on." Hikaru reminded.

"That's right; you seem pretty demanding in here. Are you sure you're still the old Haruhi we know?" Kaoru asked.

"Eh?"

"Yay! Haru-chan is a member of our family now! Welcome, Haru-chan!!" Honey showed his Usa-chan to Haruhi and let her wave hands with it as if Usa-chan was the one welcoming her.

"Anyway, lord, what would be the setting for tomorrow's hosting?" Hikaru asked.

"Hmm. . .the cosplay setting? Let me see. . ." Prince Tamaki thought out aloud. He was rubbing his chin. He glanced at Haruhi's direction and when she met his eyes, he quickly looked away. "How about a welcoming party for Haruhi's arrival? A masquerade ball, perhaps?"

"That sounds fun!" Honey jumped.

"Yes, that is very clever for you. At least, no one else would figure out who Princess Haruhi is." Kyoya grinned.

Prince Tamaki beamed foolishly as if he had really planned on the masquerade ball for Haruhi's advantage. He stood up and grabbed Haruhi by her arm. "Come, my Haruhi, it's getting crowded in here. We need a place to have a private conversation." He glared at the rest of the group before slamming the door.

"Do you think he's angry we suddenly showed up?"

"Yeah, well he doesn't want us to get too close with his Princess anyway. How selfish of him."

"Why do we need to get out of there? It isn't too crowded, anyway." Princess Haruhi muttered. The pair of them was inside a labyrinth garden. She and the prince were seated under a shade somewhere around the labyrinth.

The prince drummed his fingers at the empty table. He slowly turned his blue eyes to Princess Haruhi's and said, "Well, I want to talk to you alone, that's all. I don't want them eavesdropping around."

"Oh, and are you sure they aren't eavesdropping right now?" Princess Haruhi crossed her arms.

Prince Tamaki turned his head left and right, "No, I guess not. They respect me, I'm their master."

"Oh really? With the way they talk to you, they don't look like servants to me and you don't look like a master yourself." Princess Haruhi sniggered. Prince Tamaki's face grew red and looked away. But before he did, he noticed how pretty Princess Haruhi was when she smiled.

"You know, you look cute when you do that." Prince Tamaki said truthfully. "You'd better smile most of the time and not this – Prince Tamaki imitated Princess Haruhi's unexciting expression – because it suits you better."

Princess Haruhi felt her face grew hot when she heard this. No one had ever told her something like that. She shook her thoughts off and asked, "By the way, what am I supposed to do for tomorrow?"

"Oh, it's easy. You just have to be yourself and entertain my dear guests. They're usually ladies. But there are also men." Prince Tamaki said.

"Ladies?" Princess Haruhi asked, taken aback from what she had heard. "If you're entertaining ladies, how come you've chosen me as your princess? Surely, you could have chosen someone else to be your princess amongst them."

"There's something in you I can't find in them." Prince Tamaki said; his voice suddenly sounded serious. The princess thought it was an odd thing to say for someone he just met.

"Tell me, why do you er – host ladies? What for?" Princess Haruhi asked. Without doubt, they are rich enough, so why do they need hosting for? Is it because of greediness?

"It is a part of man's duty to please ladies with his attractiveness in different angles." Prince Tamaki said. Then, he placed his arms on her waist and drew her closer to him. "Oh, do not worry, my dear princess, I won't let you host a man. I think it would be quite nice if you chat with your girl friends."

"I don't mind hosting both." Princess Haruhi shrugged.

"I do mind." Prince Tamaki stood up. "I won't let you go near any man. It would crush my heart." Princess Haruhi sweat-dropped; he was becoming dramatic.

"No, it's fine, as long as it pays my debt." Princess Haruhi said.

"Haruhi," Prince Tamaki gave his hand to hers. "Can I ask you something?"

Princess Haruhi blinked. "What is it?"

"C – Can you stay here even if your debt is paid?" Prince Tamaki had his eyes fixed on hers. He was trying not to avoid her eyes. Before Princess Haruhi could reply, something odd was happening to him. His eyes were dilating and he was perspiring. He quickly released the princess's hands and slowly fell down before her very eyes. Somewhere around the castle, a petal of a rose fell down. The rose was on a table, floating on midair. It seemed that every time Prince Tamaki's heart hurt, a petal would fall down. It was not just an ordinary rose; it was his life.

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Well, what do you think so far? It was a rushed work if I may say so. I'll try to continue the story as long as there's no schoolwork. Tee hee. Anyway, wait for the next chapter, it will come around soon!


	9. The Curse of the Ouran Castle

_This is still part of the dream sequence okay? I just didn't entitled it as **Haruhi & The Prince: The Curse of the Ouran Castle** since it's too long. Tee hee._

_ Again, before I begin another chapter, I would like to thank my dear readers for your continuous support & reviews. I'm glad I'm still able to update today. I have not been that busy yet, so I'm using my time very well. Sooner or later I'm going to be in busy mode again (because of our training and tons of homework or school stuffs) and I won't be able to update much just like what I told you from the previous chapters._

_Well, the dream sequence is a bit long and I don't know how long do I intend to make it but hang on since Haruhi will soon be back from reality._

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It was 9 in the evening and Princess Haruhi had just finished her training with Kyoya and the twins (they have replaced their master after he had fainted). Princess Haruhi could not help but wonder why the 3 took over their master to train her when it was not that necessary. However, Kyoya told her that Prince Tamaki wished for it and their goal was to keep their master pleased.

After the training, the princess did not seem tired at all; Princess Haruhi kept on insisting that the twins should bring her to their master. After minutes of arguments, Hikaru and Kaoru finally gave in. They led her to Prince Tamaki's room, which was located at the topmost part of the castle. When they finally reached the top, Princess Haruhi noticed how each corridor became dimmer and dimmer as they go further. They came to a halt at the last room of the long and dark corridor, where Prince Tamaki's room was. They stood beside the large door and turned to the princess, "Please don't pity our Prince. He doesn't like being looked like that."

Princess Haruhi nodded in agreement. The twins slowly pushed the door open and the princess felt a different aura inside. The door soon closed as soon as she set her foot inside. The room was filled with ripped paintings, covered furniture and stumbled bookcase. It was unlikely for a prince to live in a room like it was not taken care of. It was just that minute that the princess noticed the difference within the castle. There was nothing wrong with the prince's room; the whole Ouran Castle have transformed into something gloomy and eerie. It was not very welcoming and all Princess Haruhi could feel was loneliness. What had become of this place? Was it because Princess Haruhi set foot inside this castle? No, it was more than that.

"Tamaki-senpai?" Princess Haruhi called; there was no response. She repeated; nothing. A few seconds there was a moment of silence. Then, she suddenly heard something moving. It was at the far side of the room where a dim light was coming from. She followed where it was and found a rose floating on the table. It was a beautiful pink rose and it was floating on midair. Petals were scattered on the table and only very few petals were left from the rose. Princess Haruhi could not fully understand what it was. It was such a beautiful rose; however, it was filled with sorrow. Then, a shadow came rushing before her and jumped at her. She covered her eyes and then, felt something grabbed her waist. She spread out her fingers to see what was holding her waist; it was then she had noticed that it was the prince. "Wh – What're you doing down there? I thought you were ill?" She stared at the prince who had his arms around her body.

"I – I thought you were someone else." Prince Tamaki muttered as he stood up slowly. He laid his head down to her shoulders. He could smell that sweet scent of hers. His hands were trembling, he did not know why. There was something inside of him that wanted to know more about Princess Haruhi, more than being this close to her.

"Oh, I was just finished training. What's with the castle being so dark? And why do you live in this kind of room? You are a prince after all." Princess Haruhi said; she took off his arms away from her stomach. Prince Tamaki held her soft hand and drew her closer to where his bed was. Like the paintings and curtains, his bed sheet was ripped apart and was filled with dust. "H – How could you sleep at a place like this? It's horrible."

"It's not real, Haruhi." Prince Tamaki said calmly. He let her sat by the bed next to him. How could he say that it was not real when Princess Haruhi could see it with her very own eyes? Princess Haruhi stared at him; only the dim light of the rose she was able to see a part of the prince's face. She could not understand why he was acting so calm. "It's only an illusion. Every night, it turns like this."

"An illusion?"

"Yes, it was set by that lady." Prince Tamaki started. He could recall everything like it was just yesterday. But before he went on, his heart started to hurt again. He held his chest like it was being crushed. Princess Haruhi grew closer to him and held his arms.

"What's happening to you?" Princess Haruhi said, looking alarmed.

"It's nothing." Prince Tamaki lied as he slowly removed his hands from his aching chest. He did not want his princess to worry about him too much. He pretended he was fine although it was the other way around.

"Don't move much. You should – er – Haruhi gazed at the bed before saying the words. She was having a hard time believing everything was just an illusion – lie down for awhile. You need to rest." Prince Tamaki did what he was told. He closed his eyes as he held the princess's hands close to his heart. "What do you mean it was set by that lady?"

"A curse had been set throughout this castle by a lady whom I declined to offer a shelter on that stormy night." Prince Tamaki muttered. He sighed as he recalled that horrible night. "I wasn't really that courteous to visitors, servants and anyone I know before. I loathed everything even my very life. I think I could have everything with riches and power that I have in my hands. But I was wrong –" Prince Tamaki turned his lonely eyes to Princess Haruhi's. "– on that very night that I decline to let the lady into my castle, she cursed me and everyone else in this castle. She gave me that rose as to remind me of the rudeness I have done. From then on, every night, the castle turns out to be eerie. At first, we were astonished from the appearance of the castle. But later on, we have realized that it was the rose's doing. It created an illusion that everything we have could disappear in our very eyes if we do not know how to appreciate it."

"How did you know it was only an illusion? It sure sounds difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion based on what you see." Princess Haruhi asked.

"When we woke up each morning, we found our rooms and of course, the entire castle completely normal. It was as if every night we have a nightmare and every morning we have a dream." Princess Haruhi heard him sigh once again. He sat up and reached for Princess Haruhi's face. He touched her rosy cheeks and gazed at her beautiful eyes. "So, tell me, what is your answer for my question awhile ago before I fainted?"

"I – really don't know." Princess Haruhi said truthfully. She avoided the prince's eyes; she did not want to disappoint him or let his hopes up too high. "A – Anyway, who is this lady you are talking about?"

"Ah, I guess it shall depend on your stay here." Prince Tamaki said; he rubbed the princess's hands close to his face and closed his eyes. "But I really don't want you to go. If you have been given a chance, stay here _with me._" Princess Haruhi felt awkward all of the sudden. She tried to take her hands away from him but he would not let go. She could feel his hands trembling, but from what? After a minute of silence, he went on and described the appearance of this lady. Princess Haruhi could imagine how the lady looked like; however, she was troubled because the way the prince described this stranger was somehow familiar to her. She shook her head; it could be someone else. Probably, it was not _her._ "What's the matter, my Haruhi? You look pale. Maybe you should rest as well. It had been a long day for you. Kyoya?! KYOYA!"

Princess Haruhi turned around and saw Kyoya arrive upon hearing the voice of his master. It seemed that he was not in a hurry. Princess Haruhi guessed that he and the others had been standing behind the door of their master the whole time, listening to their conversation. She eyed him but Kyoya did not look back. He pushed his spectacles on the bridge of his nose and waited for his master to tell him what to do.

"Take Haruhi to her room. She needed a good, long rest." Prince Tamaki finally said.

"B – But, how about you?" Princess Haruhi turned around as Kyoya pushed her towards the door.

"I will take a rest as well. Oh before that," Prince Tamaki stood up and grew closer to his princess. Princess Haruhi felt him touch her cheeks with his lips and whispered, "Good night, my Haruhi. Sleep well." At that moment, she wanted to faint and be caught around his arms although she had no idea why she was feeling that way. She could hear her own heartbeat beating rapidly as she gazed at the prince waving away from her.

Princess Haruhi looked awestruck from what had happened. Kyoya closed the door behind him and led the princess to her room. Hikaru, Kaoru, Honey and Mori watched the princess as she stood steadily by the doorway, not even following Kyoya every step he made. She touched the part where the prince had kissed her and flushed completely. Deep inside of her, she suddenly felt an unexplainable feeling. She was grinning without knowing it when Kyoya called her attention.

The rest of the group came into their master's room when the coast was clear. Prince Tamaki was pretending to be asleep when Honey jumped right at him on the bed. The prince made an _Ouff_ sound when Honey landed at his stomach. Mori carried Honey out of Prince Tamaki's stomach and made him sat next to the prince. He waved his Usa-chan enthusiastically and said, "Tama-chan! Tama-chan! Are you feeling okay now? Did Haru-chan made you feel better?"

"Yes, she did." Prince Tamaki beamed. Then, he suddenly coughed and held his chest once again.

"Why did you not tell her about _your_ curse?" Hikaru asked. He and his twin sat beside their lord with a concerned look on their faces.

"I don't want her to worry about me. It's fine as long as she stays here until my last breath." Prince Tamaki said; he and the rest of his friends gazed at the rose with only very few petals left. "She is the only one who could break the curse of the castle."

"She could save you as well!" Kaoru exclaimed.

"If there is only enough time," Prince Tamaki sighed; he held his chest as he thought about Princess Haruhi. He wished that his time would last a bit longer, to get to know her, and to love her like there is no tomorrow.

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So, what do you think? Go on, leave a review. You might have other ideas on what's going on next. ;p Or you could help me improve my story a bit more.


	10. Was it just a dream?

_Hi again my dear readers! I've been busy for the past few days having my training on a certain company and of course, busy also with school stuffs. Anyway, I have some spare time to make the next chappie. Let's get on with it._

_**Was it just a dream?**_

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"So we still continue our masquerade ball?" Kaoru asked the rest of the group. They were just dismissed by their master after the meeting. All of them were not in favor of the prince's decision of continuing the ball; it was not because they do not want to please him, but because of his illness. It was not a good idea to show up to the public in his current condition. There was a moment of silence after his question. Everyone had their anxious look on their faces.

Then, Kyoya clapped his hands to get everyone's attention. It seemed he had finally decided something for the group. Will he finally disobey his master? Everyone gazed at him with a serious look. "You perfectly knew that even though Tamaki is an idiot, we still do what pleases him. So, erase those long faces and let's prepare for the event tomorrow night."

"Crap. And I thought you were going against him for a change, Kyoya." Hikaru sighed.

"Yeah, it's not like we don't want to follow him any longer. But, it's for his good. I thought he would not want the princess to know his illness, then why would he risk tomorrow?" Kaoru second the motion.

"I'm worried about Tama-chan." Honey said; embracing his Usa-chan close to him.

"Yeah,"

"You do know how he would react once he finds out we're not following his commands." Kyoya said. Everyone looked up; an imaginary cloud appeared above their heads with an image of the prince looking so down. He was seated at the corner of the room, mumbling to himself. Then, when he got a chance to gaze at the direction where they were, he would make his puppy eyes.

Everyone shook their thoughts off and sighed. Surely, they could not do anything to ignore him. Before, they could but now that his life was too short, they have agreed to do what he wishes. "So even though he might get worse tomorrow, we should make sure he enjoys his time."

"Especially with his Haru-chan," Honey said. The group nodded in agreement and went separate ways.

"Do I really have to wear this?" Princess Haruhi muttered. She gazed at her curled brown hair with a small bun at the top and the rest of her hair lay at the back of her shoulders. She had a stunning, off-shoulder yellow and golden gown paired with long, yellow and golden gloves. She was holding a white mask with golden feathers beside it on her right hand. The night had finally come for the masquerade ball and everyone seemed so busy except for the princess. "Hey, I want to help out with the others. Can't I go out?"

Kyoya was waiting outside her room, preventing her from escaping. "Yes, you have to wear that gown, princess. Our master said so." He paused for awhile; it seemed someone had given him some report regarding the visitors and then, he went on, "No, you can't. Our master reminded us not to let you do all the work."

"Well, I can't just sit here and do nothing." Princess Haruhi said; she was standing behind the door.

"You are told to wait here. Just do what our master says if you do not want him to suffer." Kyoya said.

"What do you mean by _that_?" Princess Haruhi sounded alarmed. "By the way, can you tell me why the guests could not see the curse? I mean, they have been visiting you guys every now and then."

It took time before Kyoya could respond to the question. He cleared his throat and said, "The Ouran Castle has its own deepest secrets I could not share you with."

Then, she heard a familiar voice behind the door. It was talking with Kyoya. She heard Kyoya walked away and waited for him to tell her not to go anywhere but he did not. As soon as it was silent, Princess Haruhi turned the doorknob and found a dashing Prince outside her room, waiting for her. His white boots were shiny enough and his black slacks made him look sexy. He had his cerulean top and midnight blue cape. He was holding his blue and gold mask on his right hand. It had swirls of gold around it; the whole background was dark blue. He removed his mask as he gazed at his princess with his sparkling blue eyes. There was something different about them although the princess could not figure out right away. "You are stunning as ever, my Haruhi."

Princess Haruhi looked away and flushed. She was twirling her own mask. She sighed as she spoke, "You still look like a prince as always. By the way, what's this about me not helping everyone in preparing for the ball?"

"Is there something the matter with it? I don't want you to dirty your precious, little hands. They're so delicate and soft." Prince Tamaki said. He reached for the princess's hands and made her step out of the room. "Shall we go then?" He offered her a rose and winked. Princess Haruhi took the rose and stared at the prince. He pointed at his own mask and then, at Princess Haruhi's. She slowly wore her mask and blinked. Prince Tamaki had done the same and held her hands. Prince Tamaki's hands were trembling. Princess Haruhi also noticed his skin was getting paler and paler by the day. He had led the way towards the dance hall, where the ball would be held.

"Are you ill? You have been looking pale ever since last night." Princess Haruhi asked after a long silence; Prince Tamaki had been silent ever since he had gotten hold of the princess's hands.

"So, tell me, how are you going to introduce yourself to my guests?" Prince Tamaki asked. He had not look into her eyes as he had said this.

_He has avoiding my questions about himself. I wonder why._ Princess Haruhi thought. She gazed at him as if there was something fishy going on. Then, she spoke, "How can I answer your questions if you don't answer mine?"

"Okay, I – I well, I'm just feeling anxious about our Masquerade Ball tonight because it's my first time spending a party with you. There! I – Is there something wrong with that?" Prince Tamaki looked away; his face was reddening.

"You're still not telling me something." Princess Haruhi said seriously. "Are you hiding something from me? Is there something I should know?"

"Please, just trust me." Prince Tamaki said. Princess Haruhi heard him sigh heavily. He came to a halt and faced her. He placed his hands on her shoulders and kissed her forehead. "Can you promise me something?"

"What is it?" Princess Haruhi asked; it was not the first time that he had asked her to promise something for him. What was really happening?

"Promise me you won't leave my side whatever happens." Prince Tamaki's eyes looked into hers deeply. There was something in his gaze Princess Haruhi could not decode. It was as if he was giving her a puzzle and asking her to solve it.

"What is this with promises?" Princess Haruhi muttered.

"Please just promise me and I won't bother you again with another promise besides, our marriage of course." Prince Tamaki said.

"Why do I need to promise you this?"

"Promise me."

Princess Haruhi rolled her large eyes and looked away. "Oh, all right. I promise, you happy?"

"Yes, thank you." Prince Tamaki grinned. Finally, the pair of them was outside the dance hall. Before they went in, Prince Tamaki drew Princess Haruhi's left hand closer to him. He took something out of his pocket and inserted it on her left finger. Princess Haruhi could not respond or react any longer since the door of the hall swung open and the rest of the prince's servants have welcomed them inside.

The masquerade ball had begun. Prince Tamaki stepped by the middle of the staircase to thank everyone for arriving in short notice. He told everyone about having his fiancée. Everyone went silent upon hearing this. As he called on Princess Haruhi's name, everyone looked at the far left of the staircase, where Princess Haruhi had come from. She slowly walked towards her prince, gazing at the people down the hall. There were murmurs coming from the ladies since they were looking forward in being the prince's fiancée. "Haruhi Fujioka is going to be my fiancée starting this night. I would announce of our wedding as soon as possible. Now, let our masquerade ball begin."

Kaoru, Hikaru, Honey, Mori, Kyoya and Princess Haruhi started to entertain the rest of the guests. With everyone wearing a mask, they could not distinguish who's who except for the ladies. They have known Prince Tamaki and his group for a long time since they have been visiting them everyday.

_I could not wait to dance with my dear Haruhi. I would tell her that it would really melt my heart if she would spend the rest of her life with me. _Prince Tamaki thought gleefully. He was observing the joyous crowd with a smile in his face. He could not ask for more especially now that he had found his other half, he was ready to. . .

Another petal of the rose slowly fell down; only 3 petals were left. Everyone was so busy with the ball no one would notice that the flower was losing its life bit by bit. Prince Tamaki could not feel any pain. His eyes just fell down as he fell into his knees. Everyone turned around to see the prince falling down from his thrown. Princess Haruhi turned around after hearing a lot of gasps and moans from the ladies. She ran over to him as fast as she could in a slow motion.

Princess Haruhi and Prince Tamaki were all alone at the dance hall. Prince Tamaki had his head laid on the princess's lap. She had her hands on his head, watching him sleep. Their masks were removed and everyone else had gone home. It seemed that time had passed by after the prince had lost consciousness. The last petal falls down. Prince Tamaki's existence slowly disappears before Princess Haruhi's very eyes. "I'm glad I have met you. B – But I'm a little disappointed I wasn't able to marry you before I die."

"Why didn't you tell me you were ill? Everyone knows! The guests! Your friends! Only I didn't! Why didn't you tell me?" Princess Haruhi exclaimed. She could not feel hatred towards him; she just hated herself for not knowing.

"Because I don't want to see you crying," Prince Tamaki smiled as he held her crying face. He wiped her tears away. Princess Haruhi closed her eyes and felt the tears falling down from her cheeks. She bent down, closer to the prince's face and kissed him before he completely disappears. She could feel his lips but not completely. It seemed that she was just kissing with the wind. Then, a lady appeared before Princess Haruhi. She was so beautiful and bright that the princess could not really identify who she was. She touched the prince by the head and said, "Since you have shown kindness and love towards the people around you, I would give you a chance to live again." Princess Haruhi thought the voice was familiar. She tried to touch the lady but she had vanished as soon as the brightness covered the room.

Finally, Haruhi wakes up from reality with tears on her eyes. She was muttering the words, _Mother._

She had been awakened from a deep slumber. She had not realized that she had fallen asleep at Tamaki's broad shoulders. She gazed at Tamaki's handsome sleeping face. He touched his face to make sure he was real. She even pinched him to know that he would not disappear like he did in her dreams. He slowly opened his sapphire eyes and saw small teardrops from Haruhi's eyes. He wiped it away and gave her that silly smile of his. She held Tamaki's hand which was on her face and held it tightly.


	11. Secret Date

_By the way, thanks to __**KageNoNeko**__ for leaving reviews; I really appreciate it!_

_I'm so sorry it took awhile for me to update. I did tell you that I would be busy right? Anyway, the dream sequence just ended and the real story between the two had just begun. Can you still keep up?_

* * *

The sun rays have entered the room of the Fujioka residence. There was silence between Haruhi and Tamaki. They were sitting at the corner of the room, face to face. It seemed that everything went back to normal and the weather seemed fine again. Haruhi felt safe when she found out that Tamaki had not left him all the while. She gave him that timid smile of hers. She was about to stand up when Tamaki's looks told her to stay still. Tamaki's fingers slowly ran through Haruhi's cheeks, neck and then, her arms. He was drawing closer and closer to her. She could feel his warm breath. She no longer feared of losing him; it was just a dream, _just a dream._ She was just about to push him away when there was a knock by the door. Tamaki's hand quickly stuck with Haruhi's. It was not unusual to them anymore; they had gotten used to it. Whenever someone else was close to them, their hands would stick up like glue so that they would never part, _never._ Their eyes exchanged anxious looks. Who could it be at this early time of day? They stood up at the same time and headed at the door, hand by hand. Haruhi pulled the doorknob and found a tall, long haired mailman. He had mint green cap and polo, white trousers and rubber shoes. He had a black backpack which contained all the letters. He unzipped his bag and took a letter. He handed it over to the couple. Tamaki took it and then, gave it to Haruhi.

"Good mornin', Lovebirds." The mailman greeted.

Tamaki and Haruhi flushed at the same time and explained that everything was not what it looked like. The mailman did not bother to listen to them. Tamaki had the courage to change the subject, "I – is that all?"

The mailman fixed his mint green cap and nodded. Then, he bid them goodbye with a smile on his face. Tamaki quickly closed the door behind them and his hand was free again to move on its own. Haruhi have felt it too. However, Tamaki did not release her hand. She eyed him since she had to read to whom the letter was addressed from. It was from her father, Ranka. Tamaki grinned and released her hand. He played with his fingers and went to the kitchen. "Haruhi, Haruhi, what do you want for breakfast?" Tamaki yelled. Haruhi heard noises coming from the kitchen; it seemed that he had done his searching for whatever food was available. She placed the letter down and scampered to the kitchen. She scratched her head and found Tamaki under the kitchen utensils. What was he trying to do, cook? She bent down and reached for his hands. He already stood up. Haruhi held his hand but then, she accidentally stepped on the handle of the pan and slipped. Tamaki was holding her hands at the moment and so, he too, has slipped. He was on top of her; his hands were on Haruhi's. His knees were on the ground and Haruhi's legs were in between it. His chest was quickly pounding. Their lips were close to kissing; only an inch apart. Then, Haruhi's phone rang; Hikaru's name appeared on the screen. Haruhi found it hard to move with Tamaki being on top of her. She reached for her phone and pushed Tamaki away. "Senpai, you're heavy. O – Ouch!" She touched her bottom and felt it ache. Tamaki quickly sat up and pulled her towards him. Then, she picked up the phone and pressed it into her ears. "Hello, Hikaru? WHAT?! But I'm busy. I've got household chores to do. Tamaki is trouble enough. – Tamaki gave her a sad puppy eyes as he had heard this. – Yes, well, what else can I do then? Okay, whatever." Haruhi hang up and sighed. _There was more trouble coming._ That was what Haruhi's bored eyes have said. She scratched her head annoyingly. What was the host club thinking, visiting her at this time? Tamaki was not around them to lead the group into her house. Who could it be? Ah, yes, it was none other than the mother of the group, who liked things to be interesting, Kyoya Ootori. Haruhi could not let this happen, Tamaki had the same thinking. It would be noticeable for the club if the pair of them was holding hands all the time. They could not explain to them about the rose they could not really see.

"Let's leave before they arrive." Tamaki suggested and took Haruhi's arms.

"Wait, where are we going?" Haruhi said abruptly.

"You're going to show me around a commoner's store and we're going shopping." Tamaki winked.

"We're WHAT?! Hey –!"

Tamaki dragged Haruhi to her room and let her change her clothes. He slammed the sliding door behind him – he was in a hurry to leave since he did not want the host club to keep an eye on them while they are alone – and waited for Haruhi to dress up. Meanwhile, the host club members were on their way to Fujioka's residence. Honey was on top of Mori's shoulders. He was wearing a yellow orange polo, plain white shorts and brown slippers. Mori had his blue shirt, cream khaki and black slippers. Hikaru and Kaoru hummed _Cherry Blossom Kiss _as they march. Both were wearing blue and orange-colored tops and midnight blue pants. Kyoya had this evil grin of his; his sharp eyes have disappeared from his spectacles. It seemed that he had planned everything as it is. Of course, he would not let Tamaki to be all alone with Haruhi. It was not only he who find it odd – no, odd was not the term to use – envious of Tamaki's situation but also Hikaru. They had this odd feeling that something was not right. Normally, Haruhi would _literally _push Tamaki away whenever he would get closer to her.

"Kyoya, why do _we_ have to walk to Haruhi's home? We could just get there in no time by a cab or any vehicle." Kaoru protested. He and Hikaru finally got tired humming the theme song and looked tired.

"You know Tamaki," Kyoya pushed his spectacles to the bridge of his nose and grinned. "He had this feeling of his whenever we're around. It's like his instinct that we're near. He would definitely escape knowing we arrived by any means of transportation. But if we walk, it would not be too suspicious."

"Oh, I didn't know Tama-chan had good senses for us." Honey said.

"He does," Kyoya said. "He only shows it whenever he's around Haruhi."

"Do I really have to wear this?" Haruhi asked. Then, she came to a halt. That line was vaguely familiar. It was as if she had said this before.

"What's the matter, Haruhi? Don't you like your own clothes?" Tamaki asked worriedly.

"Of course I like them but. . ." Haruhi gazed at herself. It was not the idea of shopping, really. She had a small black clip on the left side of her head. She was wearing a fuchsia and carnation pink dress like they were going on a _date._ The top was fuchsia-colored; it had a V-neckline, a three-fourths sleeve and there was a small ribbon on its left side. Her skirt had diagonal pink lines of different varieties of pink. She had her high-heeled black shoes. On the other hand, Tamaki had his white polo with navy blue jacket. His pants were paired with the color of his jacket and his shoes were black. He had the idiotic smile on his face which Haruhi finds amusing. She had always liked to look at his reaction every time she had turned him down by her honest responses.

"We're only going shopping right? Why do I have to wear like this?" Haruhi grumbled.

"Well, we're not really just shopping. I want to eat breakfast first before going shopping. Or do you want to shop first before we eat? What do you think?" Tamaki rubbed his chin and gazed at her.

"Eh? Oh, it's alright for me to eat breakfast first since the fridge is empty at the moment. You could help me buy food after we had our breakfast. By the way, what else do you want to shop for? Is it for the host club?" Haruhi asked curiously. She and Tamaki were on their way to a nearby commoner eating place.

"You'll find out soon enough, Haruhi." Tamaki grinned. They were holding hand in hand as they walk. They knew it would happen since everywhere they go, there were people around. The rose would not let them separate ever, ever again.

They came to a stop when they reached _WacDonald's_. Tamaki's eyes glittered as they entered the eatery. It was as if it was a huge thing to him to eat in a commoner eating place. "Oh, Haruhi, tell me, what are we going to eat here? What kind of food do they have in here?"

"Keep it down, will you?" Haruhi whispered. "People are staring." At the back of Haruhi's mind, she just looked like a mother educating her child about the food in a commoner's eatery. "What do you want to eat, senpai?"

"Hmm. . . You order, I really don't know what to pick." Tamaki laughed timidly.

"Oh, okay then. Um, Miss, can I have this value meal? Two please." Haruhi pointed at the sausage and eggs with rice and coffee. She was about to take her money out when Tamaki handed her his money but did not look back at her.

"Do you want to add dessert, Ma'am?" the girl in the counter asked.

"Senpai, what dessert –" Haruhi noticed that Tamaki had entertained some of the ladies behind Haruhi. They had fainted and flushed before him. She looked at the girl in the counter and said, "Uh, never mind."

"Just a moment, Ma'am,"

"Could you please stop being a host just for today?" Haruhi said silently. She and Tamaki had taken a seat somewhere near the corner. The seats were exactly for pairs. Tamaki had noticed that there was annoyance in Haruhi's tone.

"I don't stop being a host even outside the Ouran grounds. The host club members never miss a chance to please ladies in a gentleman's manner in everywhere they go." Tamaki grinned and fixed his short, blonde hair.

"Well, I didn't mean it that way." Haruhi said. "I mean, if you're alone, you could please ladies with all you want but if you're with someone else, especially a lady –" She stopped; there was something in Tamaki's look that made her think she was saying something stupid. "N – Never mind, just eat."

"No, go on. I would like to hear what you're saying." Tamaki insisted. "I won't eat unless you tell me what you are trying to point out."

"It's nothing really."

"So, I won't eat."

. . .

"You're really annoying you know." Haruhi sighed and placed her spoon and fork down. She looked at Tamaki and went on, "I only meant that if you're with another lady all alone, you can't just please other ladies because that would be rude for her side."

"Oh, so are you envious then?" Tamaki had a big grin on his face. Haruhi would not dare to look; she would fall for his smile again.

"No, I'm not. I'm just telling the truth. If ever you're going on a date with someone else, you should not act that way. That's way offensive for the girl's part. I thought you knew that since you're a gentleman?" Haruhi closed her eyes and continued eating.

Tamaki froze for a moment or two. It seemed Haruhi had just hit another sensitive nerve of his. He slowly looked away from Haruhi and gazed at the doorway. Then, his eyes noticed the familiar looking people passing by the eatery. He grabbed a newspaper from the old man behind him and sat next to Haruhi and covered them both with it. He had his arms around Haruhi's shoulders as he held the newspaper shakily. "Senpai, what's the matter?"

"H – Host club," Tamaki muttered. Haruhi's eyes widened as she kept still under the newspaper. She noticed that there was a grain of rice at Tamaki's lips and wiped it with a napkin. Tamaki flushed and looked away. He slowly bent the newspaper down and looked at the doorway, Honey and Mori were the only ones wandering around near the eatery. "Still here,"

Haruhi took Tamaki's meal and then, sliced the sausage into pieces. Then, she let Tamaki open his mouth. He shook his head naughtily and looked away but Haruhi was persistent. She held his chin and let him face her and then, she let the spoon with rice and sausage reached his mouth. "You better finish your food or we won't get out of here as soon as possible."

Tamaki nodded in agreement. Finally, the host club was nowhere insight. Tamaki was about to place the newspaper down when Haruhi noticed something odd about his skin. His hands have become transparent in a second. She could see the newspaper through his hands! She rubbed her eyes and stared at it thoroughly. It was again normal. Was she having delusions? Or was he really disappearing? She looked back at Tamaki if he had noticed this odd thing; it seemed that he did not. "What's the matter? You look pale Haruhi. They're already gone. I could finish the meal myself, thank you."

"N – Nothing," Haruhi muttered. She peered at Tamaki's hands once again; it was real and she could touch it.

Somewhere around Tamaki's things, a petal had fallen from the rose. Neither of them knew that Tamaki's existence was a/an. . .


	12. Just the beginning

"I hope Haruhi made breakfast. I'm starving." Hikaru muttered; his stomach had agreed along with him. Kaoru had his arms around Hikaru; he was close to fainting. Mori and Honey were busy staring at the sweet shops, stuffed animal shops and clothing shops nearby. Only Kyoya remained silent as he had led the way to Fujioka's residence.

"Hey, Haruhi! We're here, open up!" Hikaru and Kaoru knocked at the same time.

"Probably, Tama-chan and Haru-chan went out." Honey said; he went into a thinking pose with cherry blossoms blooming around him. Kyoya turned the doorknob and found it locked. Then, he pressed his ear against the door and listened intently. Perhaps Honey was right. But Kyoya had this feeling that Tamaki and Haruhi were doing things very silently so that the whole club would think that the pair of them were not really there. The twins mimicked Kyoya's position and listened. There was no footsteps, no whispers, nothing. "Don't you think they're too silent?" Kaoru asked with a fishy look on his eyes. He imagined Haruhi and Tamaki tiptoeing around while doing the chores.

"Do you think they're doing _something?_" Hikaru said. He thought of Haruhi lying down on her bed and Tamaki being on top of her. Her arms were on his neck. Tamaki had slowly reached for Haruhi's blouse and unbuttoned her clothes. Inch by inch their faces were growing closer. He shook his thoughts off when Kaoru knocked at his brother's head like it was a door.

Honey went down from Mori's shoulders and did the same. "They're probably eating sweets without us knowing!" Honey imagined the pair eating sweets and laughing silently.

Still, the host club could hear nothing.

"I guess they're really not here." Kaoru shrugged.

"Come on, let's eat first." Hikaru moaned.

"You two stay here." Kyoya pointed at the twins. "The rest of us will look for them."

"That's fine with us."

"What do you plan on doing?" Honey asked.

"Something quite interesting, I suppose." Hikaru whispered.

"Not really," Kyoya grinned sheepishly. The twins exchanged looks with Honey.

"How long do you intend us to wait?"

"Long enough," Kyoya responded. "If you get bored, you could switch with these two." He pointed at Mori and Honey and then they all went down. Hikaru and Kaoru stood in front of Haruhi's door and watched them walk away. They stared at each other as the others were nowhere insight.

"Glad to hear Kyoya had something on his sleeve. I'm getting bored already. I miss our toy." Hikaru sighed.

* * *

Haruhi sneezed upon Hikaru's mention of her name. She was currently at the dressing room, fitting the clothes Tamaki had chosen for her. She scratched her head and muttered, "Why do I have to try all these on?! My old clothes are still usable."

"Why? Don't you like them?" Tamaki asked worriedly.

"No, it's not that. It's just that I still have my own clothes and I don't need new ones." Haruhi complained. She gazed at herself at the mirror and slid the curtains open. She was wearing a white blouse with small collar. Her azure vest was paired with her skirt. She had this long, high-school socks and dark brown shoes. Then, her next clothes were the following: a sleeveless carnation pink and plum dress with ruffles at the hem, a plain white dress with long bell-like sleeves, a mint green blouse and light pink skirt with small flowers and green swirls around it. Tamaki had enjoyed this fashion show but Haruhi thought it was the other way around.

Tamaki's face reddened and his eyes glistened in excitement. "You look so cute!" He exclaimed and embraced her so high that everyone stared at them. He rubbed his face into hers and felt so happy.

"Senpai, quit it! You're gaining more attention!" Haruhi said as she pushed Tamaki away.

"Oh, sorry, I was just so happy to see you wear feminine clothing –"

"WHAT?! Are you saying my clothes are manly? That's an insult!"

"Sorry –" Tamaki kissed her by the cheek and then, pushed her inside the dressing room. "Wear the others."

"How many clothes do you plan to buy for me?" Haruhi glared at him before entering the dressing room.

"Er –" Tamaki looked away.

"Don't tell me everything that you find cute?"

Tamaki flushed and nodded his head slowly. Haruhi angrily slid the curtains closed. "Uh – Haruhi – wait!"

"If you don't lower the numbers, I won't let you buy me any." Haruhi demanded. She had crossed her arms and faced the curtains. There was a tiny hole where Haruhi could see Tamaki's gloomy expression. Probably, he was thinking of letting her wear all those outfits during the hosting.

"How about 20?"

". . ."

"15?"

". . ."

"10?"

". . ."

"5?"

". . ."

"Is it too many?"

"Yes,"

"Okay, this is final! Three, how about three?" Tamaki showed his 3 fingers. "Is that okay?"

"Yes, I guess so." Haruhi showed her head behind the curtain. Tamaki shook her head and grinned. "Now, get dressed, let me see the next ones." Then, he turned around to look for more clothes when he saw a tall, familiar figure leading two other more. It was Kyoya, along with Honey and Mori; they were turning their heads left and right as if looking for someone. Tamaki quickly hid behind the lady mannequin that had a red trench coat and black top and bottom and then, he covered his eyes with his hands. _I can't let them see us. I can't let them ruin this day for us._ He slowly peeked at the arms of the mannequin and saw Kyoya enter the opposite shop while Honey and Mori enter the department store where the two of them were currently in. Tamaki bit his nails clumsily and quickly slid under the curtain of the dressing room. Haruhi jumped in astonishment to find Tamaki inches away from her. Tamaki had his eyes set on her small, slender, half-naked body. She had her back turned from him and she still had her skirt on. She was just about to remove her undergarment when Tamaki sneaked in. He gulped as their eyes met. His face reddened; he quickly turned around and looked at the curtain. He shut his eyes as he spoke softly, "Host club in here."

"I see." Haruhi said as she wore her top. She looked at Tamaki by the mirror. He was not turning around or using the mirror to peek at her. He had just set his eyes at the curtain with sweat falling beside his ears. _He is really a gentleman. Any man would have turned his head to see a woman's body._ Haruhi turned around and faced Tamaki. She held his clothes to gain his attention. "Look, you could turn around. It's alright –" Tamaki's fingers pressed on Haruhi's lips to keep her mouth shut. He made the shh-ing gesture and looked anxiously at the curtain. The pair of them listened to Honey's conversation with the saleslady.

"Well, according to my description of them, have you seen any of them around here?" Honey asked. Mori was gazing from left to right to see if the pair was hiding behind the mannequin or the displays. All the salesladies squealed when they saw Mori. They started gathering around him. Honey was busy listening to the saleslady entertaining him. Haruhi and Tamaki could not hear their conversation any longer because of the ladies' squealing. Haruhi had the weird feeling that they were being turned in. She removed Tamaki's fingers and whispered, "Senpai, what're we going to do? I think they're headed here."

"It's alright. It's only Honey and Mori." Tamaki grinned at Haruhi.

"What?! But we're together – in here – they might think otherwise!"

"Trust me."

_Not again. It was another familiar line I had heard before. What was happening? Am I having déjà vu? _She grinned back at him, meaning she does trust him. Her heartbeat was racing; she did not know if she would push the curtains and show herself or wait for them to peek at the curtains and find the two of them together. Haruhi could not bear the thought.

"Once I give the signal." Tamaki said, "We'll run out of here."

"Eh?" Haruhi looked at Tamaki and he nodded. She gazed at his lips – in which she remembered her kiss with him in her dream – and then, suddenly blushed that she had lost concentration on what Tamaki was saying.

"Now!!" Tamaki dragged Haruhi out of the dressing room. He waited for the ladies to gather around Honey and Mori in order to escape. But then, Honey and Mori were able to ask the ladies politely to get out of their way. Honey jumped at Mori's shoulders and saw the pair getting away. "Takashi, that way!" Honey pointed at where Haruhi and Tamaki were hiding. Tamaki even tripped upon running and Haruhi had to help him up. Mori and Honey were able to catch up on them and blocked their way of escaping together with the ladies gathering around them.

"You won't catch us alive." Tamaki stood in front of Haruhi. It was as if they were in an action movie. Honey and Mori were the villains who were about to take Haruhi from Tamaki and Tamaki was the hero, vowed to protect his lady.

"Tama-chan, no more games. Give up, we have found you." Honey pointed at Tamaki.

"Never." Tamaki's eyes sparkled as he took something beside him and then, showed it to Honey. It was a large, pink Usa-chan with a red ribbon on its middle. Honey at first did not show any interest but then, he jumped out of Mori's shoulders and embraced the huge Usa-chan.

"Ah – h, kawaii!!" Honey exclaimed.

"Let's go, Haruhi." Tamaki held her hand and ran away. Haruhi chuckled as she gazed at Honey and Mori. Probably, the entire host club had their own weaknesses. She wondered what Tamaki's was. Then, she gazed at his hands and held it tight as they ran. She suddenly realized what her weakness was.

* * *

Kyoya turned around and waited for the other two. There was a commotion going on at the department store. He shook his head. Just then, his cell phone rang; it was the Hitachiin twins. "What's up Kaoru?"

"Hikaru and I ate first. We'll go back to our post later. Is that alright?"

"I guess so."

"Any news yet?" the voice has changed. Kyoya looked at his phone and then, grinned.

"No, Hikaru, we haven't found them yet. I'm waiting for the two –" Kyoya just evaded objects that were thrown at his direction. It seemed all the ladies have gathered around Honey and Mori that they left everything that they were shopping for. "They are taking awhile. They might have found something."

"Oh, I see." Hikaru responded. "Probably, it's best if we come along with you guys."

"Talk to you later. I'll just inform you if they're in here and then, you could catch up." Kyoya hang up.

"Whew! That was close! I can't believe Honey senpai fell for that. He might not forgive us once he saw us again." Haruhi panted. She and Tamaki were at the 3rd floor, near the gadgets store.

Tamaki looked at Haruhi and they both laughed. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that." Tamaki finally said. "I'm sure he would blame himself for liking the bunny instead of blocking us. Besides, I think Honey really wants us to get away."

"Really?" Haruhi looked at him and wiped the sweat on his face. Tamaki quickly looked away and took his own handkerchief to wipe his own sweat.

"Oh, how about the clothes I have picked for you? Darn!" Tamaki thought out aloud. "Oh, I know. Once the host club is gone, we'll buy it. Oh, I can't wait to see you wear those clothes at the host club!" He jumped in excitement as he imagined Haruhi being in a dress. She was dancing with him in his fantasies.

Then, Haruhi noticed that Tamaki's body had disappeared for a second. She could see the gadgets that were on sale through him. Haruhi's face became pale once again as she held Tamaki's arms tight. No, what was going on? Why does she keep seeing things like Tamaki disappearing? It cannot be. Was this another weird dream of hers? Tamaki found it odd for her to act that way. He turned his head around and before she could stop him from gazing at the glass, it was too late. He looked at the gadgets displayed at the store. Haruhi waited for him to realize something but. . .

"OOH! Haruhi, look! It's the new series of the iPhone! I can't believe it!" Tamaki's eyes sparkled in glee. He kept pointing at the small white gadget by the store but Haruhi cared less about that stuff. She stared at him and waited for him to change the subject but he did not. Haruhi sweat dropped when Tamaki did not see what she just saw.

"Uh – never mind. I must be seeing things again." Haruhi mumbled.

"What? Did you say something about seeing things? Haruhi, are you okay? Do you need to rest?" Tamaki quickly turned around to face her.

"N – No, I'm fine. How about you? Don't you feel anything – well – odd lately?" Haruhi asked. "Anything at all?"

"No, I feel great! Why do you ask?"

"I just thought . . . wait! Where are you going?"

"To the toilet," Tamaki said. "I'll be back in a second."

Haruhi tried to reach for him but he already ran towards the toilet room. She had this sick feeling inside of her that she could not understand. She did not want for him to be separated from her even for just a second. She did not know why, but she had this feeling that something was not right. Could she be the only one who could see that Tamaki was disappearing? As he disappeared before her sight, she quickly followed him behind and waited outside the toilet room.

No one else was around the toilet room and Tamaki gazed at his wonderful self by the mirror. He winked at himself and then went to a cubicle to pee. He was about to push the door open when he noticed that he could see the handle of the door through his hands. He closed his hands and it turned back to normal. He took his rose; it was still in one piece and it still had petals around it. However, he did notice something different about it. It was brighter than its usual color. It had a glow around its petals. Then, he placed it back to his things and faced the mirror. He shut his eyes before facing it. Slowly, he opened them. Tamaki found himself slightly disappearing before his very eyes. He covered his lips and gasped. Was that what Haruhi meant before? Then, an old man came in and Tamaki's appearance went back to normal. Then, his phone rang. Tamaki jumped before he could take the call. He stared at himself once more and touched his skin. It felt real. Then, he took the cell phone out from his pocket. He slowly pressed it into his ears and heard a familiar female voice spoke on the other line. "Tamaki?"

_

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_

By the way, thanks for the reviews! I really appreciate it! I'm updating as fast as I can since I have some time. Once the holidays are over, well, I would be busy once again and it will take time before I would be able to update again. By the way, HAPPY HOLIDAYS everyone & a prosperous NEW YEAR too!


	13. Haruhi's decision

_To **Ai Usagi** and to the rest of the readers who I leave confuse as the story goes along:_

_Ah, yes, the rose still has its mystery. The rose still applies to the storyline of course. (I'm talking about the previous chapter, __**Just the beginning**) __The rose would let them be together when they **touch** each other and when there are people __**close **__around them just like when they walk around or eat at a diner. There are times that the rose would let them be stuck with each other and there are times that it wouldn't. It's a mystery! Sorry about the confusion. Hope my explanation helped! ;)_

_Thanks again for your reviews. It encourages me to continue updating! Anyway, I'll be busy again for the next few days. Hopefully, I'd be able to update quickly like this._

* * *

Honey was seated at a chair; he was inside a dark room where the only light was focused on him. His arms and feet were tied to the chair. Mori was beside him; he was also tied to a chair and had his usual expression in his face.

"Now, Honey, is it true that you have seen Haruhi and Tamaki together?" a voice came from the dark; it sounded cold. Honey made a cute face and shook his head slowly.

"You can't use your charm against me. It's useless." The voice went on, "Now if you give us information, I won't mind letting you eat . . ." The voice showed Honey a table of sweets. Honey's lips drooled over and his eyes glinted with interest. He had to eat; he had no other choice. He shook his head and thought about Haruhi's happy face when she was with Tamaki. _I'm sure Haru-chan and Tama-chan had their reasons why they want to be alone together. I can't let the others know about them. They look so happy together. _Honey closed his eyes to avoid temptation.

"Don't resist, Honey. You would only hurt yourself." The voice said.

"Grrr . . . This is unfair." Honey cried out.

"Not only you would get to eat alone," the voice went on, "but you also get the chance to get back your 2 Usa-chans."

Honey's eyes raged with fire. "NO – ONE – TOUCHES – MY – USA-CHAN!!!" The ropes snapped out and Honey stood large enough. Mori also stood up from his seat; he was able to untie the rope without any struggle at all. Honey stomped his foot heavily and went towards Kyoya. Then, his eyes changed direction in where his small and large Usa-chan and the sweets were waiting for him. His expression transformed back to his normal self as he slowly ran toward the table.

"Now, Honey, aren't you going to tell me what took you both so long in the department store? Did anything else happen besides the stampede of the ladies?" Kyoya asked. Honey gaped at Mori bit by bit. Their eyes met and Honey knew what to do.

"Senpai, what took you so long? I –" Haruhi stopped talking; Tamaki shook her head and smiled. There was something in his smile; it was as if he was hiding something from her.

"I'm sorry; I had to take the call."

"A call? Is it from the others?"

"No, not really," Tamaki replied absent-mindedly. "Come on; let's get your new clothes."

"W – wait, there's something I need to tell you first." Haruhi could feel herself trembling. How on earth could she tell him that he was disappearing? It sounded really stupid. How would she let him believe her? What was her proof, her sight? She held Tamaki's hands and gazed at his sapphire eyes seriously.

_Oh what is she going to tell me? Is it a confession already that I am not really a father to her but a lover instead? Oh I can't wait! _Tamaki grinned broadly. His heart was thumping out of his chest. He pretended to remain calm. "What is it?"

"It may sound odd. . . but I can't just watch you like this!" Haruhi said abruptly.

"Oh, Haruhi! You finally understand how I feel for you! I've been keeping these feelings inside of me for a long time and I thought you would never ever return them! Oh, you made me so happy, Haruhi!!" Tamaki embraced her tightly in his arms.

Haruhi pushed Tamaki away from her and said, "What are you talking about Senpai? I have something else to tell you!" Her voice was shaky as she spoke, "If you haven't notice this, then I just did and it's driving me nuts! Y – You're disappearing. I don't know if I'm having delusions or whatever. I've just seen it twi –" Haruhi stopped; Tamaki's face had grew closer to her. He slowly closed his eyes before her and locked her lips into hers. At that moment, Haruhi felt her time stopped. She closed her eyes slowly and felt his body grew closer and closer to her. His arms swerve from her arms to her waist. He felt so warm, so _real._ Then, he slowly pulled himself away from her and whispered a few words. She stood there for awhile, unable to move her little body from the Prince's magical kiss. She could not just accept what she just heard; she had to do something.

"What are you doing, Haruhi? Let's go." Tamaki pulled her hands into his. Haruhi slowly looked up and saw him with a big grin on his face. _I'm sorry Senpai. I can't let that happen._

* * *

"Welcome!" It was another hosting day for the host club. It was a very tiring day after Kyoya and the gang had done chasing Haruhi and Tamaki around the mall for quite some time. Everywhere the pair hid, ate, and bought the club would show up and trail them like shadows. Even though the pair did make it out, the club knew that they were together all along. There was even a time when Tamaki was running along with Haruhi and they both slipped from a banana peel and then, rolled down the stairs. Then, the club had interrogated both of them why they were acting like they were a couple or something. It was very unusual for Haruhi to treat Tamaki so close to her. The pair could not think of a better lie, but then, the twins butt in and told them an idea of a game. They call it the _Haruhi chasing game_. They will let Haruhi walk wherever she goes and if any of them finds her, he gets to spend a time with her _all alone_. Everyone agreed to the idea and Haruhi had to cover each of them with blindfolds. The last she blindfolded was Tamaki. He held her hands and promised to find her because of the rose. But then, things did not go as expected. Tamaki's hands stuck with Haruhi's as soon as he had promised to find her. When Haruhi started walking, Tamaki was behind her all the time. The rest of the host club protested that Tamaki had been cheating. Kyoya told Tamaki that he was out of the game although he had allowed him to be with Haruhi as the game continues. Tamaki even dragged Haruhi to a hidden place so that everyone else would not find them. To his disappointment, Kyoya had his eyes fixed on them.

"It's a beautiful day today, isn't it, Hikaru?" Kaoru asked; he placed his arms around Hikaru.

"Yes it is, Kaoru. We get to spend our time with Haruhi!" Hikaru grinned.

They were at the 3rd Music Room of the Ouran Academy with the theme of Christmas season. Hikaru and Kaoru were wearing azure and mint green Santa clause's suit. Haruhi and Tamaki still had their hands glued together. It was difficult for them to host since they were always together. But Tamaki thought it would increase their guests when the pair of them work as one like Honey and Mori; Hikaru and Kaoru.

"What exactly is this?" Hikaru eyed Haruhi's and Tamaki's hands. He even showed it to the rest of the ladies. Everyone gathered around them with hearts in their eyes.

"Uh, I don't want to be separated from my dear Haruhi." Tamaki muttered.

"Oh, how sweet!"

"Isn't that cute?"

"I wish I would be stuck like that with Tamaki. Kyaa –!" Several ladies have fainted.

"We're at the host club, my lord. Nothing would take her away from us." Kaoru pointed out.

"Yeah, except us." Hikaru made an evil grin and took Haruhi's hands. He nodded at Kaoru and his twin went to his side. Honey and Mori went to Tamaki's side. As Hikaru counted to three, they pulled each other out as if they were playing a tug of war and Haruhi's and Tamaki's hands were the rope. It was difficult for Haruhi and Tamaki since their hands cannot be separated by anyone. Then, the third hand of the clock stopped bit by bit. Everyone froze. In a fraction of a second, their hands slowly separated with unknown reasons. The third hand of the clock started to move once again. Haruhi slowly fell on the ground along with the twins while Tamaki fell on his knees. Honey and Mori were standing beside him. Haruhi gazed at her hand; it was impossible for someone to separate them yet the rose had let the host club do that. Tamaki looked puzzled and teary-eyed all of the sudden. This was the second time he got disappointed with what was happening with them. Why is that?

Haruhi turned to the direction where Tamaki was. She was wearing the same color as Tamaki's suit, but a smaller version. She did not pity him; it was the right thing to happen. If she separate ways from him, then he would not disappear like the rose had intended him to.

They both made an evil grin as they gazed at Tamaki. The Prince had his head low and was at the corner of the room, mumbling to himself. He had his red-colored Santa suit.

"Now, now, don't get so down, Tamaki. They won fair and square at the game yesterday as well as today's tug of war, I guess." Kyoya smirked. He had the violet-colored Santa suit. He pushed his spectacles on and scribbled on his clipboard. Their visitors were increasing since it's a holiday season. It would take time before the classes would resume again.

Tamaki looked at Kyoya with a sad look on his eyes. Teardrops were falling down from his eyes. "How long will the devilish twins spend their time with my daughter? And what is Haruhi, a prize? I cannot allow that!" He pointed at the twins angrily.

"Hey, Hikaru did you hear that?"

"Yeah, the Lord wants us to be separated from Haruhi as soon as possible. Probably, he wants to spend Christmas with Haruhi."

"HOW SAD." The twins cried in unison and then, burst into laughter. "Besides, we did not say that Haruhi is a prize. We just want to spend time with her since _you_ always get to spend time with her. We're just being fair."

"I'm going to spend my Christmas with my father." Haruhi said.

"Aha!" Tamaki suddenly stood up from his position and beamed.

"No, I meant, my _real_ father." Haruhi rolled her eyes.

"Oh," Tamaki sighed. His face could only show his disappointment ever since yesterday. What was his fault for experiencing these happenings? He looked at the sky and a light shown down below him. He bent down his knees and his arms rose at the sky.

"Probably," Kyoya gazed at the twins and they both nodded. "After new year . . ."

"Eh?!" Tamaki had his jaw-dropped. His world was turning round and round and round that he had fainted on the ground. Everything around him crashed down into pieces. The light above him had disappeared. "Why? What have I done to deserve this?"

"Back to your hosting everyone," Kyoya said.

Then, the door of the room opened. Tamaki had quickly recovered from his pain and went towards the door to welcome the guest. He had his rose ready and gave his handsome and welcoming smile. It was as if he had expected her to arrive that day. "You are early." Tamaki greeted. Everyone went silent when the lady guest came in. The host club had exchanged serious glances to one another as she had set her foot in the room. What was Éclair Tonnere doing at the Ouran Academy?

She walked towards Tamaki and Tamaki kissed her hand as a sign of greeting. Haruhi looked away and pretended that Éclair was not around. She continued her hosting like no one came in the room. Slowly, the rest of the guests and the hosts returned to their usual doings. Only Kyoya and Tamaki had entertained Éclair.

"Can you call all your friends, Tamaki? I'd like to give something to all of you." Éclair whispered to Tamaki.

"May I ask what this is all about? Does this concern my grandmother's wishes? You told me yesterday that you would answer my questions when you arrive here." Tamaki asked.

"I am inviting you and your friends in my birthday celebration. Well, n – no," Éclair said, astounded to what she had heard from Tamaki. "I came here on my own. It is my way of thanking you of being so nice to me despite for what I've done."

He nodded and turned his head back to her and called the rest of the host club. They came towards Éclair, Kyoya and Tamaki and stood in a semi-circle. Haruhi came last. Éclair gazed at Haruhi's direction and then, chuckled. She took small envelopes out of her small bag and gave each one of them except for Haruhi. The last one to receive was Tamaki. There was a sweet but strong scent in the envelope. Tamaki looked puzzled at the envelope and then, at Éclair. "That's an invitation to my ball. You are all invited to come."

"To your ball?" Tamaki repeated.

"How come Haruhi didn't receive any invitation?" Hikaru protested.

"If Haruhi doesn't come, then I won't." Kaoru said with his arms crossed.

"Well," Éclair stared at the host club and then at Haruhi. "I forgot how many you were. I didn't remember the exact number of your group; I thought there were only six of you."

"That's alright. No harm done." Tamaki said. He pointed at his envelope and went on, "My invitation is Haruhi's invitation."

Haruhi felt butterflies in her stomach as she had heard this. It was so sweet of him to say that. But then, she could feel something wrong at the back of her head. Someone was staring at her with envy; she knew who it was right away. "Oh," Éclair grinned at Tamaki. "That is very sweet of you, Tamaki."

Haruhi wanted to respond to what Éclair had said but decided to hold it back. She knew if she did mention that she had no intention of attending, the rest of the host club, especially Tamaki, would not attend. She just kept it to herself and looked down.

"I'll be expecting all of you to come." Éclair said as the door of the 3rd Music Room have closed.

Then, Haruhi just received a text message from Ranka. She smiled and replied to her father that she was doing well and that she cannot wait for him to come home. She was about to return her phone in her pocket she noticed something different about her picture with Tamaki. She gazed worriedly at the real Tamaki and then at the picture behind her phone.

_It may be rude not to show up at all but it's the only way Senpai could stay alive. I have to stay away from him . . . not because I want to hurt his feelings, but because I want him to be here, along with the host club even if it means I won't be able to spend time with him like before. Besides, it shows that Éclair doesn't want me to attend. _Haruhi thought as she stared at Tamaki. She touched her arms as she recalled his gentle touch, held her ears to remember his comforting words, and touched her lips as his lips locked into hers.


	14. A surprise gift from Eclair

_Hi there! It's been another busy week for me. I've been busy at school and at On-the-Job-Training. My head keeps spinning round and round and I can't think very clearly last night. Now, I got a good night sleep, let me continue the next chappie for you!_

* * *

It was already 5 in the afternoon and Haruhi was still inside of her room. She sat still in her room, unable to do her daily chores from what she had seen yesterday. In her right hand, she held her mobile phone with the picture of her and Tamaki behind it. The picture of Tamaki had slightly disappeared from the photo. She stared at the ground and slowly looked up at the sunset. The words Tamaki had whispered to her rang in her small ears, "I care less about that as long as I stay with you like this."

_He cares less about what happens to himself and cares more about staying with me. What an idiot. How could he stay with me if he disappears? And now, that girl – _The image of Éclair appeared on her mind – _suddenly appears on the scene? What else would happen?_

_Beep. Beep. _Her phone vibrated. She just received another text from Tamaki; he had been bothering her the whole day about the Masquerade ball since she had not given him any response to his continuous questions. _**When are you going to arrive at the ball? What dress color are you wearing? What time can I pick you up? It's just us, okay? Not the entire host club. We'll just be waiting for them by the time we arrive there.**_Haruhi shook her head. She kept his messages in her inbox without even bothering to reply. But at the back of her head, she knew that Tamaki wouldn't stop bothering her if she didn't give him any response. He might even think that she won't attend the ball. Haruhi scratched her head and stared at Tamaki's latest message. It took a minute before she had decided to press the reply button. She blinked. She bit her lip and stared at his name. She did not know what to say in the first place but then, another message was received; it was from Hikaru.

_Haruhi, what time do you plan to leave your house? Can Kaoru – oh, he just declined to go with us – anyway, as I was saying can I pick you up instead? Kaoru would go with Kyoya and the others. Well? – Hikaru_

Then, a thought struck Haruhi. It was pretty naughty. She sighed and closed her eyes before even pressing the button. She first replied to Hikaru, _Sorry, Hikaru, Tamaki-senpai would pick me up by 6. You could probably go with Kaoru and the others instead._ And then, she pressed the send button. She shut her eyes as the message was sent. Then, it was time for Tamaki. _Sorry, Tamaki-senpai, Hikaru would pick me up by 6. You could probably go with Kyoya and the others instead. _She pressed the button and placed her phone back to her pocket. She embraced her locked knees close to her chest and bent her head down.

_It feels terrible. I don't want to do this but there's no other way. _Haruhi muttered. Finally, she stood up and dressed up. She had set her mind up where she would go on that night. She was certain that the host club would visit her home once they figure out that she wasn't attending the ball.

* * *

At the New Cherry Blossom Hotel Tower, Tamaki and Kyoya had just arrived. It was a few minutes after 6. The two handsome, young men did not even enter the designated room. They have planned to enter it when the rest of the host club was complete. They were currently at the lobby. It had a huge, glistening chandelier at the middle. There was a huge red carpet where comfortable sofas and wooden, rectangular table were. At the right side of the lobby was the counter and the opposite side was a wall filled with enormous paintings. The wallpaper design was filled with light, cherry blossom petals of different sizes. Tamaki kept pacing left and right. He was wearing midnight blue top and white slacks for the bottom. He had his mask on his gloved hands. He kept glancing by the door until his neck almost cracked. He would look at his cell phone to check if Haruhi or Hikaru would text him but no one did.

"They would arrive here sooner or later. Why don't you just sit down and get something to entertain yourself?" Kyoya suggested. He pushed his spectacles and gazed at Tamaki with his sharp eyes. He had a purple tuxedo and cream slacks. He also had his mask on his right hand.

"I am anxious to see my Haruhi! She didn't tell me what color she would wear tonight!" Tamaki said abruptly.

"Is that really what you're anxious about?"

"Well, no, not really!" Tamaki flushed. "Hikaru is probably taking his time with Haruhi that's why they're still not here!"

"Kyo-chan! Tama-chan! Over here!" Honey waved his small Usa-chan at Tamaki and Kyoya. He was wearing an orange tuxedo while Mori had a royal blue tuxedo. He and Mori have just entered the New Cherry Blossom Hotel Tower. It seemed that they just ate something sweet. Tamaki and Kyoya noticed that Honey still had crumbles of cake near his lips. Mori quickly wiped it with his white handkerchief and gazed at the two with his usual expression. Honey seemed to be looking for someone behind Tamaki. He gazed at Tamaki with a puzzled expression on his face. "Where's Haru-chan?"

It took time before Tamaki could respond. He could not afford to say that he just lost to his rival in picking up Haruhi. "Hikaru would pick her up." Kyoya finally said. Tamaki felt his body froze at the moment.

"Huh? And I thought Tama-chan would do that? What happened?" Honey asked.

"Apparently, Hikaru was too quick for Tamaki."

"Don't say that, Kyoya!" Tamaki exclaimed. He gazed at his fingers and played with it. "P – Probably, Haruhi was too shy to admit that she wanted me to pick her up that's why she ended up choosing Hikaru."

"That's odd." Honey muttered.

"Why?" Tamaki and Kyoya asked in unison. Honey pointed at the Hitachiin twins. They arrived a few minutes after Honey and Mori. The pair of them were wearing blue and green tuxedo. It seemed that Haruhi was not with them.

"Yo!" the pair said.

"Where's my Haruhi? What have you done with her?" Tamaki shook Hikaru's shoulders.

"What are you talking about? She said that you were going to pick her up!" Hikaru said.

"Liar! She said that _you_ were going to pick her up!"

"Why, you! Are you calling me a _liar_?"

"Well then, are you calling Haruhi a _liar_?"

"Quit it, both of you! Haru-chan would be sad if she had seen this!" Honey stood in front of the two and handed each of them a slice of strawberry cake. "Now, let's just eat cake and get along! But wait, do you guys like strawberry? I could get the strawberry at the top of your slice. . ." *Background: Irritation* Mori carried Honey out of the scene and let him eat the two slices of cake at far corner.

"I'm going to find her!" Tamaki marched out.

"Tamaki," Kyoya called. "It seemed that Haruhi had planned not to come along. She told you both the exact opposite thing."

"I don't care. She must have some reason why she did not let any of us to pick her up. I'm going to talk with her." Tamaki said seriously.

"What is with the commotion over here? Tamaki, where are you going?" a voice said from behind. Slowly, the gang turned their heads around and found Éclair standing next to them. She had her shoulder-length hair tied into a bun and she had this midnight blue and goldenrod dress. It was an emperor cut. She placed her mask down as she went closer to Tamaki.

"Oh, Éclair, I – I was just going to look for Haruhi." Tamaki said. "The Ball would not begin yet, I probably have time to talk to –" But Éclair had already taken his hands and led him to the designated room. The rest of the host club followed except for the twins; Kyoya told them to search for Haruhi. "Come, I want you to see my surprise for you."

"S – Surprise? Could it be that you have seen my Haruhi?" Tamaki pleaded.

"No, silly," Éclair's tone of voice changed upon hearing Haruhi's name. Then, she went on, "You'll see what it is when you come with me."

Éclair turned right after the end of the counter and it led to a stairs. Tamaki wondered what kind of surprise Éclair was going to give him. Finally, as they have reached the 1st floor, Éclair faced the 3rd door on the left wing. She wore her mask before she turned the doorknob. Kyoya and the others have done the same. Every guest in the room turned around as they entered. The room was enormous and bright. Green, rounded tables were arranged by the two sides, leaving the middle floor to be the dance floor. The floor had forest green and silver carpet. Éclair called out on of her servants and asked something about a familiar name. Tamaki's ears moved upon hearing what she said. Then, his eyes even widened as his beloved mother slowly appears behind the crowd. At that time, tears slowly fell down from his sapphire eyes.

* * *

"Where the heck Haruhi could have been?" Kaoru asked. The pair of them had left the hotel. He noticed that Hikaru had been silent ever since he and Tamaki had realized that Haruhi lied to them. It was all just an act for the two of them to quarrel about Haruhi. What they were really furious about was what Haruhi had told them.

"Do we really need to find her? It's obvious she does not want to be found." Hikaru muttered.

"Hikaru, don't be like that. Like the lord said, she must've her own reasons why she lied to you both. She probably doesn't want any of us to pick her up. Her father would probably escort her here." Kaoru said. He took his brother's hands and led the way to the Fujioka's residence. Hikaru gazed at the back of his twin. He had always found a way to calm him down.

"Let's search everywhere." Hikaru grinned.

"Oh, you don't want to attend the ball anymore? You just want to keep on searching for Haruhi?" Kaoru smirked.

"Probably," Hikaru shrugged. "Besides, Haruhi's the reason everyone's attending that ball right?"

"For the lord and Kyoya's case, I don't think so."

"Oh, yeah, it might be some business matter or something."

"For the lord, it might be just more than that."

"I get what you mean. Let's look for Haruhi quickly; I don't trust that Éclair girl much. She tried to break our club before, she might do it again."

"Right,"

* * *

Haruhi had left her home; she knew that the club would arrive any time soon. She was on the streets when she came across the old lady. It was her who had given Haruhi the magical rose. At that time, everyone froze; only Haruhi and the old lady were able to move. Haruhi took something out from her bag and handed it over to the old lady. The old lady refused to accept the rose and gazed at Haruhi under the cloak, "_The wish will slowly be granted whether you like it or not. Staying away from him does not make him safe. I'm certain that the rose would not permit the pair of you to be separated by strings of fate._"

"Why are you doing this? Why did you give each of us a pair of useless rose?" Haruhi asked.

"_Useless, you say? Is it really useless to that person?_" the old lady turned the question back to Haruhi.

Haruhi did not respond. She came closer to the old lady and placed the rose down next to her feet. Then, she turned around. "I know that Tamaki-senpai doesn't need to wish on that flower to get to me. We do not need those stupid wishes to control our lives. We choose what happens in our lives."

"_Ah, that is a bold thing to say my dear. But that doesn't change the fact that the pair of you had your own deepest desires which you could not control to feel._" A strong wind blew behind Haruhi. She closed her eyes as the wind went past her. Then, she opened her eyes and found everything back to normal. Everything was moving again. The old lady was gone and so was the rose. Haruhi did not feel contented; if she would stay away from Tamaki, she had better stay away for good. That may be the only possible way to keep him existing. Her small bangs covered her large eyes. Could she possibly stay away from him and the host club? Could she bear the thought of leaving them without saying goodbye?

Haruhi gazed at her mobile phone and found 15 messages coming from each member of the host club except for Tamaki and Mori. Had Tamaki stopped bothering her because she lied to him? She read each of their messages. She had realized that the twins were looking for her, that the ball already started and that. . . Tamaki had never felt so happy in his life because of Éclair? She stared at Honey's text message. She wanted to ask him what happened at the ball but she decided to hold back. She trembled as she dialed Tamaki's number; she waited for his idiotic voice to respond. But to her astonishment, it was not his voice that had responded to her call, it was Éclair.

"Hello? Can I speak with Tamaki-senpai? This is his number after all." Haruhi said.

"Oh, he's quite busy at the moment, Haruhi. He doesn't have time to speak with you. He has more important matters to attend to." Éclair said. She was alone at the corner of the room, watching from afar where Tamaki was. He was busy playing the piano beside his beloved mother, Anne-Sophie. It had been a long time since the host club had seen Tamaki very happy.

"N – Never mind then," Haruhi went on, "could you tell him I called?"

"Certainly," Éclair hang up and turned off Tamaki's mobile phone. "As soon as he remembers that you're not around."

_

* * *

_

Sorry I was only able to update now. Anyway, thanks for your support & reviews! ;) Tell me what you think of the chapter so far. If you have any other ideas that pop out in your head, don't hesitate to tell me okay?


	15. The Last Night

_At last, I have updated once again. It's been so long ever since I've posted the next chapter. Oh, I missed to read fanfics and manga OL. But I still have time to watch anime! Oopps! Lol. If you've read my profile, you know what anime and channel I'm tuning in. *winks* Well, I was able to watch anime on weekends and if given extra time –like now– I would write the continuation of my fic. Here it is._

_We last read that Haruhi and Éclair had a short conversation by the phone. Haruhi was trying to reach Tamaki to make sure nothing has happened to him and of course, for another reason. Remember what Honey texted her? She got curious what made Tamaki so happy when she was away. Could it really be Éclair? Well, get started already! I'll be waiting for your reviews! Ja-ne!_

* * *

"Staying away from him won't do me and _him _any good." Haruhi muttered. She was at the park all alone. She sat on the nearest bench she could find and cleared her thoughts. Ever since she had come across the old lady, she could not help but think how Tamaki was doing. She even thought of going to the ball – she gazed at herself with a stupid look on her face – and face all the guests wearing her casual clothing. It would be pretty embarrassing. Haruhi shook her thoughts off. Is she going to the ball and see if Tamaki was doing alright? She had to. But – how was she going to face the fact that she lied to Hikaru and to him? How was she going to tell them that she did not intended to hurt their feelings?

Haruhi gazed at the stars at the sky. She knew that she had to make a quick decision before everything's too late.

"She's not even in here." Kaoru muttered. The twins have been at the Fujioka residence for quite some time and nobody else was home. They figured that she went somewhere else where they couldn't find her. But why? Why did Haruhi have to lie to them and hide from them? What was really happening?

"Let's keep looking. She could be everywhere." Hikaru suggested.

"We shouldn't have worn these clothes. We're gaining attention from the neighborhood!" Kaoru said abruptly. The pair of them has noticed that everywhere they went, their fans would gather around them.

"Let's go." Hikaru reached for his brother's hands and took off. His phone was ringing at that time. Then, when he felt that the coast was clear from the ladies, he took the call. It was not the lord's; it was Kyoya's voice on the other line.

"How's it going? You haven't called Tamaki for awhile." Kyoya started.

"Well, we're kind of busy at the moment. You could try to call later if you want to." Hikaru teased. "Not good. We haven't seen Haruhi yet. She's not home."

"Oh, I already doubt that she wouldn't be home. Try to look somewhere else."

"How's the lord doing?" Hikaru could not help but ask.

"He is reunited with his beloved mother." Kyoya said. "It will take time before he realizes that Haruhi wasn't able to attend the ball."

"Eh, really? H – How did that happen? You mean he forgot that Haruhi didn't attend the ball and we're searching for her?" Hikaru exclaimed.

"Éclair brought Anne-Sophie along with her. It seemed that she hadn't told Tamaki's grandmother. Probably, she will find out about it sooner or later." Kyoya grinned. "Not entirely forgotten, I just believed that since Tamaki hadn't seen his mother in a long time and he would be spending his time with her rather than worrying about Haruhi. Probably, he knew that she had good reason for not showing up at all."

"Ah, so that's the surprise that girl was talking about." Hikaru said.

"Anyway, just keep us updated on what you're doing. I'm not the only one waiting for your call." Kyoya turned around and glanced at Honey and Mori's direction. The two had been looking gloomy even after having a chat with a few ladies and eating delicious desserts.

"Sure thing,"

"So, are they having any fun?" Kaoru gazed at his twin. Hikaru shook his head. "Ah, I see."

"Only the lord's happy at the ball. It seemed that Anne-Sophie was the Éclair girl's surprise. Kyoya had his same usual tone so I'd say he's bored. Mori and Honey were waiting for our call; they would probably enjoy all the sweet stuff while waiting there." Hikaru almost drooled as he said this; his stomach growled as it second the motion.

"R – Really?" Kaoru sounded astounded upon hearing the news. The pair of them suddenly wished they were beside their lord at the moment. They haven't seen their lord so happy before except probably from being with Haruhi. But that would be a different matter since Anne-Sophie is Tamaki's mother.

"Anyway, let's get something to eat first. Then, we continue the search." Hikaru suggested.

"Why don't we try her mobile once again? Maybe it's already on." Kaoru said; he nudged his twin brother.

"Right," Hikaru dialed Haruhi's number. Finally, it rang.

Haruhi jumped as she heard her mobile phone rang. She stared at it. She wiped the tears from her eyes and looked at the small screen; Hikaru's name was flashing. She cleared her throat before picking it up. She did not want to sound that she just cried. "H – Hello?"

"Haruhi, where the heck are you? We have been looking all over for you!" Hikaru said abruptly. He did not really mean to blurt everything out at once. But, it was her fault; she made them believe that she was going to attend the ball.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Hikaru. I didn't mean to lie to you or to Tamaki-senpai." Haruhi responded. It had made Hikaru calm down. He had never heard Haruhi sounding depressed.

"I – It's okay. I didn't bring the conversation in the first place, right?" Hikaru flushed and looked away from his brother. "What's the matter with you? You're acting strange, Haruhi."

"Am I? Hah! I didn't realize that. Everything seemed pretty strange to me." Haruhi shrugged. She looked at the stars at the sky and went on, "I guess I'm so confused right now. I'm really sorry about what I texted to you earlier."

Hikaru looked down on his feet and said, "Oh, that, it's n – nothing. Why didn't you attend anyway? You could still catch up. We'll pick you –"

"I don't have anything nice to wear." Haruhi reasoned out and then, she thought of the dresses she shopped with Tamaki. She wanted to take back what she had said when Hikaru spoke first. "Is that the only reason you're not attending the ball? Or are you irritated with that Éclair girl?"

"N – No, that's not my reasons!" Haruhi exclaimed. "I – I have some personal reasons, okay? I can't let you know the reason so please understand."

"All right, I won't ask anymore." Hikaru said.

Kaoru took the phone from his twin and said, "Haruhi, please do attend the ball! There's still time. We could go together and surprise the lord. We'll say it's a prank that we thought of you about the lying thing. Is that okay for an excuse?"

Haruhi grinned on the other line. She could not say no to the twins. "Oh, alright, you two could meet me up at my house. I'm going home."

Kaoru gave his twin an okay sign and handed him over the phone. "Now, we could eat."

"Kyo-chan, how's Kao-chan and Hika-chan doing? Have they found Haru-chan yet?" Honey asked as he embraced his Usa-chan tight. He was sitting on Mori's lap at the moment.

"No, I'm afraid not." Kyoya said shortly. He glanced at Tamaki and his mother. He wanted to approach Tamaki about the matter but he decided not to interfere.

"I hope they make it. They're missing a lot." Honey took a large bite on a vanilla cake and sighed.

"Yeah."

"Having fun, Tamaki?" Éclair came over to him and his mother.

"Y – Yes," Tamaki grinned. "How can I ever thank you about this?"

"It's really nothing." Éclair looked away.

"You could take her out some time." Anne-Sophie suggested.

"I – I might be asking too much." Éclair looked down.

"Uh," Tamaki could only scratch his head. He did not know what to respond to the matter. He looked at his gang first before he responded. He noticed that their group wasn't complete yet, the twins haven't returned and his heart gave a twitch as he realized that Haruhi was still not around. He heard himself sigh. It wasn't going to hurt if he agrees to his mother's suggestion. Besides, it was his way of thanking Éclair. He slowly nodded his head on agreement.

* * *

"Hurry now, we might not make it." Hikaru teased. Haruhi was busy changing her clothes in her room. She had an off-shoulder yellow and golden dress with long, yellow gloves. She had a small golden clip at the left side of her head. She took the mask form the cabinet. Slowly, she slid the door open and found the twins jumped in astonishment towards her appearance. Kaoru whistled. Hikaru was speechless.

"What? H – How do I look? By the way you guys look, it seemed that –" Haruhi stopped.

"You look great, Haruhi and we weren't thinking of anything else but that." Kaoru grinned. "It would please the lord to see you like that. You haven't worn any dresses since you were born."

"Whaat?!" Haruhi flushed and threw things at Kaoru. "I thought you were much nicer than Hikaru! Come back here!"

"Hey, guys quit it. We're going to be late."

"Hikaru, why do you sound so serious all of the sudden? Did I say something wrong?" Haruhi stopped running.

"N – No, it's not that." Hikaru looked away. He wouldn't dare to look at her. She was so cute to be in that dress. She was so lady-like. He hoped that he would see her wear those clothes all the time.

"Or probably, you think I look hilarious wearing this dress? Tamaki-senpai bought it for me. He told me I looked good on it." Haruhi gazed down on her dress.

"N – No, silly! I think, y – you look pretty."

"Really? T – Thanks!"

"Shall we go, then?"

"Yes!"

"Wow, is this really it?" Haruhi asked. The twins nodded in agreement and led the way inside the hotel. Everyone had glanced at their group as Haruhi passed by. Haruhi did not mind this; she was much more worried of something else. Her heart was racing each step she took. She could not breathe well and she felt that she would collapse anytime. Kaoru noticed this and stepped back a little. He asked what was wrong with Haruhi. But Haruhi told him that she could not understand what was happening to her as well. As soon as they have reached the room, Haruhi took a deep breath. The door swung open. There were a lot of guests by that time and they gazed as Haruhi and the others walked in. Haruhi wore her mask and searched for a tall, blonde guy amidst the crowd. Finally, she and the twins have found him. The twins were about to yell at him when Haruhi stopped them. She lowered her mask down with a frown on her face. It was not the welcome that she had in mind. She pictured Tamaki looking gloomy because she lied to him and to Hikaru and then, he would slowly run to her and embrace her in his arms. But then, the picture vanished in her thoughts when she saw Éclair and Tamaki dancing at the middle of the dance floor. All eyes were on them. It was like a prince and a princess dancing inside their castle and surrounded by their special guests. The music slowly vanished and the two stopped dancing. Éclair grew closer to Tamaki and pulled his chin close to hers. Haruhi felt her heart ache as her eyes have seen this. She held her mask tight and bit her lips. Tamaki tried to push her away but then, he saw his daughter amidst the crowd. Tamaki had his eyes focused on his wonderful princess, "H – Haruhi?"

Haruhi's face lightened up as she had heard Tamaki's voice. Éclair glared at Haruhi and then, held Tamaki's arms tight. She was certain that he would go over her again. She whispered a few words to him that stopped her from going to Haruhi. His blissful face transformed. He glanced at Haruhi with an apologetic look on his eyes. His lips moved a little as his eyes met hers.

Haruhi was not blind not to have seen how his lips moved. It was composed of three hurtful words. Haruhi could not move a muscle upon what she had seen.


	16. Tamaki Haruhi One

_The title's supposed to be **Tamaki + Haruhi = One.**_

_Since it can't be seen at the select button, just ought to let you readers know._

_Whoa. It's been soo loong since I've updated this. Sorry about that. I'm graduating soon and there are tons of stuff to do at school and there's no time for accounts and such. T.T finally, the next chapter is here! Go ahead and read. Tell me what you think so far and you may even have other great ideas to share. That would be great. ;)_

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I'm sorry, Haruhi.

Tamaki's lonely voice echoed in Haruhi's small ears. The time had stopped during that moment. Haruhi could not understand why Tamaki was apologizing in the first place. She wanted to move her feet; to ask him directly why he was looking so down and what was he apologizing for. But she could not move; all she did was watch the pair of them leave before her very eyes. She slowly lifted her arms to reach Tamaki. Then, to her astonishment, Tamaki fell down on the ground. Éclair caught him in her arms just in time and the crowd started to gather around them. Haruhi pushed among the crowd and went to Tamaki.

"W – What happened to him?" Haruhi's voice croaked. Why was she asking such ridiculous question? She knew what was happening. The rose could have done this, nothing else.

"I don't know." Éclair did not even look at her eyes as she said this. She placed Tamaki's arms around her shoulders.

"Let me help you."

"Just – stay away from him!" Éclair muttered before she left.

"I was," Haruhi heard herself saying. "But I can't."

"But I'm worried about him! The host club is worried about him! Why wouldn't you let me come near him?!" Haruhi pushed the door of the hotel room before Éclair could even close it.

"Because I don't want him to leave me again like he did before! You don't know how it feels like! He was so nice even though. . ." Éclair sobbed. She pushed the door harder.

"I don't!" Haruhi exclaimed. "But you're in no position to place a barrier between me, the host club and Tamaki!"

"Neither do you."

Haruhi watched the door slam in front of her face. She came back to her senses when she heard her mobile vibrating. Hikaru had been contacting her ever since she came home, but she never answered any of his calls. She was at her room. She wanted to be alone. She didn't want to see the host club or anyone else. Her heart felt crushed into pieces. She was supposed to be alongside Tamaki to make sure he wouldn't disappear completely. But she couldn't.

"She wouldn't pick it up, darn it!" Hikaru ended the call. He and the host club were standing at the corridor, waiting for the doctor's announcement of Tamaki's condition. The twins were on the opposite sides of the door. Honey and Mori had their backs laid on the wall. Kyoya had his hands on his pockets, standing in front of the door. He had his eyes fixed on the small window of the door. He could see the doctor checking up on Tamaki's blood pressure.

"Let's pick her up." Kaoru suggested. "She won't hesitate to go once we tell her personally what happened to the lord."

"Tell it to her gently."

"Yeah," Kaoru saluted. "Besides, I don't want to see that Éclair girl hanging around beside the lord. She gives me the creeps."

"She won't be around." Kyoya assured. "She might be busy telling the Suohs what happened to their son."

"I thought Kyo-chan already phoned Tama-chan's family?" Honey asked.

"Yes, well. . ."

"Do you think the lord will be all right? It's not like him to faint because of stress." Hikaru said as soon as they left the hospital grounds. His voice sounded worried.

"Yeah, I know. I think he will be okay once he sees Haruhi again." Kaoru grinned.

_THUG! _Haruhi fell down on the ground; her eyes became dull and her heart had stopped beating. Everything was so dark. She could only see herself and nothing else. _Eh? Where am I? Wh – What just happened? _Haruhi asked at the dark. She waited for a response, instead a fading Tamaki appeared before her. He had a patient's clothing and he had a sad look on his eyes. _S – Senpai? Why are you wearing such clothes? Are you okay? _

"I'm sorry, Haruhi." Tamaki just said.

_Hunh? Not again. Those words._

Tamaki repeated the words. Haruhi covered her ears and shut her eyes. It was the first 3 words she had hated to from Tamaki's lips. Ever since he had walked away from her that night, she could not stop feeling weak. Her trembling hands lifted and reached for him but he slowly moved away.

_Don't. . . say. . .that. . .Senpai. . .please. . ._

"I'm sorry to have made you worried. But you won't be able to see me ever again."

_W – what are you saying, Senpai? Can you hear yourself?_

"You have to live and do something about my wish."

_Your wish? Is this about the rose? Senpai, please don't disappear!_

"I have to go."

_Go where?_

"Oi Haruhi where the heck are you? We're coming in, the door is open!" Hikaru pushed the door. Kaoru pulled his brother's arms. "WHAT? We did knock a couple of times. Besides, the door's open."

"But this IS her home after all."

"Haruhi?"

"Haruhi, blame Hikaru for trespassing!"

"H – Hey, quiet down will you?"

"What?"

"Haruhi, Haruhi! Haruhi! What happened to you?" Kaoru came rushing in when he heard his twin's voice. He saw that Haruhi had collapsed into the floor and his twin was trying to wake her up.

"That's odd. It's the same scenario with the lord. He suddenly collapsed at the ball." Tamaki slowly faints appeared in Kaoru's mind. "Are they related? How come what's happening to the lord is happening to Haruhi?"

"What are you doing standing there, Kaoru? Call Kyoya and the others!"

"R – Right,"

"I wonder what happened to Haru-chan & Tama-chan?" Honey said.

_What's that? I'm hearing a familiar voice. _Haruhi could see a small light despite the darkness. She walked towards it.

"When we came, she was already like that. It's the same case as the lord's."

_That's Hikaru's voice. What does he mean by that? _She was getting closer. The voices were becoming louder and clearer.

"The doctor told us that they're both healthy but couldn't explain why they fainted all of the sudden."

_Doctor? Wait – am I at the hospital? _Haruhi slowly opened her eyes. Everything was blurry at the moment. Bit by bit, everything around her became clear. She blinked her large eyes and turned her head to the right. The host club was around the sleeping Tamaki. She glanced at them with a confused look on her face. What just happened?

"He's still not waking up." Hikaru pinched Tamaki's face. He waited for the lord's stupid reaction but none came.

"Look, Haru-chan's awake!!" Honey exclaimed. The serious look on the host club's faces became alive as they noticed Haruhi.

"How are you feeling Haruhi?" Kyoya asked. He had a scary look on his face.

"For a moment I thought you were really concerned about my condition." Haruhi gazed at him like a book and then went on, "Hmm... You're going to ask me to pay something you guys just bought. What a caring question."

"Not really," Kyoya smirked. "I also feel worried about you and Tamaki especially now that he's not waking up. The hospital bill will keep increasing."

"W – WHAAT?!" Haruhi fainted as her soul slowly lifted up. The twins caught it in time and placed it back to Haruhi's body.

"He's just bluffing, Haru-chan! Please don't sleep again! Tama-chan's been sleeping for a long time." Honey said sadly.

Haruhi stopped pretending to be dead and sat up. "W – What exactly happened to him?"

"Same as what happened to you, remember? He fainted without any reason. But the only difference is he hadn't woken up and you did."

"Oh," Haruhi turned to Tamaki and recalled her dream. It was the same clothes she had on her dream. The twins retold the story how long Tamaki had been asleep and how the host club had been switching to watch over him.

"I see." Haruhi muttered. "So that's what he meant on my dream."

"Well, you'd better rest. We'll come back later on to watch over you two. Keep an eye on him okay?"

"What?! Hey, wait!" Haruhi felt her head going dizzy. She held her head and laid down. She gazed at Tamaki before she slowly lost her consciousness. _I don't want to sleep again._

"Haruhi!"

_That voice._

"Haruhi! Haruhi!"

_That stupid voice._

"Haruhi!"

_Senpai..._

Haruhi quickly opened her eyes and turned around. Tamaki was still asleep. It seemed that it was a long time ever since she had lost consciousness again. She was feeling a bit heavy although she had no idea why.

"Haruhi."

_That voice again. Why can I hear it? _Haruhi held her head.

"Haruhi, I know this may sound weird."

_Uh, yeah. This is weird. Why are you talking to me when you're asleep? I don't see your lips moving._

"I'm inside you, Haruhi."

_That's silly. Please don't make fun of me that you're dead or anything. It's not FUNNY!_

"I can see my body asleep because you're looking at it. Whatever you see, feel and hear, I also see, feel and hear."

_Preposterous,_

"I'm not lying. I don't know how did this happen. When I woke up, I'm already inside your body."

_No, this is not true. THIS IS NOT TRUE! THIS IS NOT HAPPENING! _


	17. Under the Rain

_It's been awhile. I've been busy doing some stuffs for my graduation, like clearance, etc. Well, thanks for the reviews. It encourages me to write some more. ;)_

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I'm sorry, Haruhi. This isn't exactly what I expected.

Tamaki apologized. Haruhi closed her eyes for a second and then, opened them again. She gazed at Tamaki's body sheepishly. She peered into his lips. It did not budge at all.

_Haruhi, what are you doing?!_ Tamaki exclaimed.

"It's not like what _you_ think I'm doing." Haruhi retorted.

_Oh,_

"Darn, I think I'm going nuts. I'm talking to myself." Haruhi sat down and gazed at Tamaki's sleeping body. He was sleeping soundly as if he was in paradise.

_I can't believe I'm looking at myself right now. It feels odd._ Tamaki said silently.

"We're both feeling odd, you know." Haruhi muttered. "I'm talking to myself and here you are staring at yourself." Haruhi sighed. Nothing was odd to Haruhi ever since the rose became a part of her life. Everything that was happening was out of this world and she could not even figure out what the existence of the rose was for if it was going to take something away from the wisher. She sat still. What was the rose for? Was it really to grant their greatest desires? Or to teach them both a lesson they will never forget? Haruhi could not figure things out. She was so perplexed of what has been happening that she wished that the rose never appeared in their lives. Then, she stopped – that was it! How could she be so stupid that she had not figured it out more quickly? The answer was just right in front of her. "We have to do something about this or our lives will not be normal again. I have to get the rose."

_No, you can't. _There was a worried tone on Tamaki's voice. Haruhi knew he had feared what was going to happen next. _If you wish for something, you might disappear as well! I cannot allow that to happen!_

"Well, we cannot just sit here and wait for our existence to disappear completely!" Haruhi said. "I have to make a wish which will stop all of these happenings which will not include losing my own life, of course." She brushed Tamaki's blonde hair and gazed at his silly face. She sighed and stood up. Tamaki could feel that nothing else could stop her from what she was about to do, not even his words. Haruhi was just about to turn the doorknob when a nurse came in to check up on them. She was an inch taller than Haruhi and had bespectacled brown eyes. Haruhi pretended that she was just waiting for a visitor to arrive that was why she was at the door. The nurse just smiled and waited for her to sit down on her bed. She was forced to stay for a while until the nurse is gone.

"Uh, how long he had been sleeping?" Haruhi asked after the nurse had finished checking her blood pressure. The nurse removed the stethoscope from her ears and grinned, "Your blood pressure's normal. You should just get some rest and you'll be fine." She took a deep breath and went on, "Oh, him? He had been asleep for a day now. I believe he's in a coma."

"A coma," Haruhi repeated.

"Yes, some people take years to wake up from a coma. Others don't stand a chance." The nurse explained.

"But he just fainted, how come –"

"It's really odd though. The doctor's findings did not record any symptoms of a certain disease or whatsoever."

Haruhi remained still. The nurse noticed the worried look on Haruhi's face that she decided to change the subject. "Well, he'd better wake up since he had 2 pretty ladies waiting for him to do so."

Haruhi raised her head. "T – Two?" Haruhi stopped for a moment, thinking who this nurse was referring to. She knew that the nurse was not referring to her since she looked like a guy. She was hoping the other lady was Tamaki's mother, Anne-Sophie. Could it be that the other one was. . .? She could not bear to think of her name and face.

"Yes, a stern-looking lady with a shoulder-length hair came in earlier. From the looks of it, she had a French blood since she had this accent. Anyway, it seemed that she was in a hurry. She just held Mr. Suoh's hand for quite some time and whispered some words. She kissed him at the cheek and took one last look at him before she left." The nurse said.

"W – Was she alone?" Haruhi feared the response.

"Hmm...Not really, she had someone else beside her. A maid, perhaps," The nurse recalled. "But it does look like she does care about Mr. Suoh. Oh, that's right! She does resemble him in some parts and I don't really know if they're related or something. But there's a sad look on her eyes when she was looking at him. She embraced him before she left with the French lady. It seemed they're both in a hurry, though. They kept looking by the door."

"Oh, I see." Haruhi and Tamaki said at the same time. But Haruhi knew that Tamaki's voice felt crushed. Only she could hear and feel his pain.

"So, who among the two of you are his fiancée?"

"Eh?" Haruhi sweat-dropped. Tamaki's heart leaped. "Y – You know I'm a girl?! N – No, you got it all wrong! It's nothing like that. I'm just a friend of his!"

"Of course I know, you silly girl. I'm a nurse." The nurse winked. "Oh really? By the way I see it, the way you look at him is different from the look given by a friend. Trust me, I know that look. Anyway, rest well." She shut the door behind her and the two were left all alone. Tamaki could not help but smirk in Haruhi's head. Haruhi felt irked by it that she had to yell at him to shut him down. "WHAT ARE YOU SO HAPPY ABOUT, SENPAI?"

_Nothing, I just can't believe what I just heard._

"Hmpf,"

_W – Wait, we are we going? Are you just going to leave my body behind?_

"We're going home. I've got to get the rose and make a wish. What else? Don't worry, nothing could go wrong. The host club will be arriving soon."

_Oh alright._

"Don't worry; I know what to wish for. I'm certain nothing else would go wrong."

Heavy rain showers went down as soon as Haruhi came out of the hospital. It was not the weather she was hoping for. "Great, just great!"

_Just get a cab; I'll take care of the payment. _

"And how will you do that?"

_Well, I did tell you earlier to get my wallet right? There's your answer._

The security guard near the hospital doorway assisted Haruhi in getting a cab. He even offered his umbrella for the two of them to take cover. It took awhile before they could get a vehicle. Most of the cabs passing by were already taken. Hauhi was about to lose patience when a cab with a young driver stopped by them. Haruhi gave the security guard a tip with Tamaki protesting in her mind since she gave the guard a huge amount of money. She slammed the door and told the driver that she will give the directions.

"Quiet down, will you? I can't give directions to the driver!" Haruhi muttered.

_But Haruhi. . ._

"He looks like he needed it. Besides, he helped me get a cab and prevented me from getting wet."

"Eh? Are you alright, young ma'am? You seem to be mumbling to yourself. Is everything okay?" the driver asked.

"Oh, I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I just talk to myself most of the time. Anyway, just drive." Haruhi gritted her teeth. Not only Tamaki was noisy in her head, but the driver was also interfering with her. "This is going to be one hell of a crazy day."

_Haruhi, wake up._

"Hunh? What? Oh, I must have dozed off. What?"

_The driver seemed to be lost. Or I guess, he's taking you somewhere else. This is not the direction to your home._

"Hey, what do you think you're doing? This is not the way I told you to go! Where are you taking me?" Haruhi demanded. She poked the head of the driver.

"Well, somewhere where no one else could see you." the driver grinned.

_Haruhi, get out of the car. It's not safe._

"I know that! But he's speeding up." Haruhi said.

_It's better to get injured than being touched by him. I don't know what he's up to but it's definitely not good._

"Oh, okay then." Haruhi said under her breath. She took a deep breath and pushed the door. She jumped off the cab and fell into the empty street. Her body rolled towards the dark street. Her head was about to hit the post nearby when Tamaki called out her name. Haruhi covered her head with her arms as she slowly hit the post. Haruhi and Tamaki both flinched. There was blood spilling around Haruhi's body; her head was hit. It was being drawn by the rain. The blood and water drained down the nearby opened manhole. Haruhi felt her head spinning. Tamaki urged her to stand up and leave the place. If she fainted in there, something else might happen to her.

_Please tell me you're okay._

"Uh, you know," Haruhi panted as she reached for the post. She slowly raised her feet and maintained her balance amidst the wet ground. "If you hadn't been in my body right now, probably, I could have died." Haruhi gazed at the place where the cab had turned. It was good that he had not come back for her or else it could have been worse. She moved her trembling legs slowly. Her eyes hurt since blood was dripping down her head.

_Call someone from the host club. Tell them where you are. It's the only way someone could come and help you. I can't help you right now, Haruhi. I'm completely hopeless. I'm so sorry!_

Haruhi stopped walking and smirked. "Don't – be – silly. You – have been – a great – help – watching over me – while I'm asleep – and you told me – what I should do." She picked up her phone and dialed Hikaru's number. "Hi – ka – ru."

"Haruhi? W – Where are you? Why aren't you in the hospital anymore?" Hikaru's voice sounded worried. Haruhi told Hikaru quickly where she could be found. He hadn't asked her what happened since he could tell in her voice that something went wrong. He and Kaoru quickly went out to look for her. Tamaki could only watch his poor Haruhi weakening. Her legs could not carry her weight any longer. Her world kept spinning and spinning. Her eyes shut down and her body hit the solid, wet ground. Tamaki embraced Haruhi with his invisible arms as he waited for someone to help her.

_Don't worry, I won't leave you. I'm just right here. Just be safe. _As Tamaki held her in his arms, the rain did not stop falling even for him. He blamed himself for all that was happening to them. If he had not wished for him and Haruhi to be together forever then none of this would have happened. _I'm so sorry, Haruhi. Really, I am._


	18. An unusual date

Haruhi woke up with a start. She looked around the familiar room. The window in her room gave away the time of the day. The sky was still dark but with little light surrounding it. It was dawn. She blinked twice. How did she get into her room? It was then that she had realized that she got home. It took awhile before she recalled what happened. She went out of the hospital, determined to get the rose. It was raining that time and it felt terrible. Tamaki told her to take a cab but it took awhile before she got one. And it was worse, the cab driver have something else in mind for her. She did not panic. It was not like because Tamaki was there inside her; but because she did not want to rely on anybody else besides herself. But it was a good thing Tamaki had possessed her and listened to him once in awhile. She did not argue this once and jumped off the cab. Then, she got soaked in the rain along with her blood flowing with it. The blood did not smell that much since the rain kept pouring down heavily. She heard faint words from her head and felt Tamaki's touch. He seemed serious and lonely. Haruhi was just about to ask Tamaki what was his exact words when she heard low voices coming outside the room. To Tamaki's relief, Haruhi stood up and went to see who was responsible for saving her life.

"We won't leave her side for now. We'll be responsible for her from now on." a familiar, serious voice said. Haruhi peeked by the little space between the sliding door to see that it was Hikaru that was speaking.

Uh-oh. It seemed Haruhi would have a problem getting rid of her saviors. She couldn't possibly make a wish with the Hitachiin twins around.

"Wishing would be impossible right now." Haruhi gulped. "O – Ouch!" She held her head. It was then that she had realized that her head was filled with bandages.

_Don't move much. _The voice in her head said so.

"I know that." Haruhi flinched. "Anyway, who changed my clothes?" She gazed down from her arms to her chest and her legs. She was wearing a plain white blouse with mint green by the hemlines and floral skirt. "They're all soaked awhile ago."

_Umm_, was all Tamaki could say.

"Don't tell me, 'It's them.'"

_No, not really._

"Then, who – actually?"

_It's me. _Tamaki said simply.

"H – How?"

_I took over your body while you're asleep. It's not that I wanted to do something to your body. That would be rude and absurd since it's like I'm holding my own body. _Haruhi glared at him this instant. Tamaki quickly went on, _I looked for your clothes as fast as I could and put them on with my eyes closed. It was hard for me. . . _His voice trailed off since Haruhi was breathing very fast.

"Why, YOU PERVERT!!!" Haruhi yelled. Then, she did notice the buttons on her blouse was unevenly closed and her skirt was below her waist and wrinkled. She wanted to take back what she said when the door slid open.

"Who's the pervert?" Kaoru slid the door. Haruhi's slippers hit Kaoru's face and he fell.

"Yeah, Haruhi, who's the pervert?" Hikaru chimed in. It seemed he had just hung up. Haruhi threw her pillow and then, the bed sheet at him.

_What are you doing? _Tamaki asked. _I told you it was me!_

"Well, I'm getting angry with them because I can't get angry at you and hit you like what I did to them!" she whispered. Then, she turned to the twins, "YOU GUYS ARE!" She pretended to sound convincing. "You dressed me up. I'm all soaked up awhile ago."

"No we did not."

_Haruhi, stop it. They are going to think you're nuts. You dressed up yourself._

"You dressed up yourself. Although you are feeling a bit dizzy you managed to change your attire." Kaoru removed the slippers from his face. His nose, cheeks and chin were filled with dotted dirt. He coughed and shook it away. He did not looked annoyed at all; in fact, he looked more like, astounded. Hikaru had trouble removing the sheet all over him. He was struggling inside it, making an irksome noise. Kaoru pulled the bed sheet away from his twin with a bored look. He glanced sideways at Haruhi with a serious expression on his face. Haruhi gulped. She knew that she sounded insane awhile ago; she had to think of a way to take it back. She scratched her head with an apologetic look.

"Get some sleep; it seemed you hit your head too hard." Kaoru peered at her face and patted her head. Haruhi frowned; she did not want to be treated like a child. He threw the pillow and bed sheet back to her and winked before he slid the door. Haruhi felt relieved. She fixed her bed and then, sat still. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Slowly, she unbuttoned her blouse. Tamaki felt butterflies forming on his stomach. Haruhi could hear him gasp. "You're overreacting. I'm just fixing my clothes. You buttoned it wrongly." Tamaki suddenly had this queasy feeling inside of him. He wanted to be with her face to face, to embrace her in his arms, to gaze at her large, wise eyes, to touch her soft cheeks and kiss her lips. He shook his thoughts off and sighed. It would take awhile before he could do that. Haruhi pulled up her skirt close to her waist and finally opened her eyes. Tamaki felt relieved; at least he would not have to think _those_ thoughts again. If this wish was going to take awhile, he wished to end it. He did not want to invade Haruhi's privacy deeper. Haruhi faced the ceiling as she lay down. She stared at it as she pondered. They have to think of a way to get rid of the twins so she could finally make a wish.

_Don't do it._

"Why not?" Haruhi asked.

_I – It's better this way, not letting anything else happen to you._

"You're sounding rubbish." Haruhi retorted. "There's no way I could let you disappear. Your parents, the host club, don't you think they don't care what's happening to you?"

_I'm in a coma, Haruhi. They just have to wait for me to wake up, it's nothing terrible. How about you? If you made your wish you could disappear as well. And then, both of us will be gone._

"It seems easier to die this way, anyway." Haruhi shrugged.

_You don't know what you're saying! I don't want you to die! Why won't you listen? _There was pain in his voice.

Haruhi closed her eyes. "I've made up my mind. Don't argue with me anymore."

_But Haruhi – I – _As soon as she closed her eyes, she fell asleep. Tamaki continued without hesitation. _Love you._

* * *

The next morning came by quickly. Haruhi had slept well. Tamaki did not bring up the topic last night. He remained silent. Haruhi stretched out as she gazed at the morning sun.

"Ohayou, Haruhi!" The twins greeted enthusiastically as the door slid open. Haruhi jumped in astonishment; she forgot that the twins were with her.

"Morning," Haruhi mumbled.

"Why the sad face? Cheer up, it's a good day!" Hikaru beamed; he placed his arms on her shoulders.

"How are you feeling?" Kaoru asked; he peered to her face.

"Fine," Haruhi replied shortly; she did not want to have a conversation with either of them. All she wanted was to be alone.

"Um, Haruhi, I'd be heading out to buy us something to eat." Kaoru volunteered. "You and Hikaru could stay. I won't be long." His eyes met Hikaru as he had said this.

"I want to come along." Haruhi protested. "We should all go. I don't want to stay put; it's making me sick."

"Well, for one thing, you are not sick, but injured. You need to rest." Hikaru retorted. "Don't make it difficult for us."

"You completely know what I _mean_." Haruhi glared at him. However, the latter made sense for Haruhi. Tamaki still had not woken up from his coma. She had just recovered from an accident. The host club was trying very hard to keep both Tamaki and Haruhi safe and sound. Haruhi could sense their concern but she did not want this attention.

"I'm not going to be a burden. You're both there to watch over me." Haruhi finally said after the long silence. "Besides, I need some fresh air."

"Oh, alright," Kaoru was the first to give in. "Let's go then. We could visit the lord later on. Make sure you're feeling okay, he might get up soon."

Haruhi nodded; she knew it would take awhile before Tamaki would wake up. It might not be soon but probably, later. She got up to the door and whispered, "Perfect."

_For what? _Tamaki could not help but ask.

"Perfect for our plan to get rid of them."

_Oh, _Tamaki said. _But you really do not need to do that. You could simply go to the toilet room and make your wish and then, they would not get disappointed or worried at all._

"You're right." Haruhi agreed. "But 5 minutes is not enough to think things over. I need more time."

_I thought you finally decided on making a wish? _Tamaki said, troubled.

"Yes, but I need to think of the exact words to say and what the consequences would be. It takes time, not just 5-7 minutes!" Haruhi led the way to the grocery store. Although the twins knew how to get there, Haruhi decided to walk ahead so that they would not hear her talking to herself.

Tamaki wanted to respond but he held back. He agreed on letting Haruhi follow her idea. Haruhi took a basket as soon as she got inside and pretended to ponder on what to buy. Hikaru started to wander off while Kaoru stood still. Haruhi was having a hard time telling a lie this time. She recalled what she had told Tamaki and Hikaru about attending the ball. Although it was not Kaoru that she had lied to, she knew that this was going to be difficult. She helped Kaoru pick some leafy vegetables.

_Tell them you need some time alone. It won't take awhile. _Tamaki suggested. _It's better than lying. At least, they won't be fretting about you heading at a dangerous place again._

Haruhi glanced at Kaoru. She had to agree with Tamaki or else she would hurt Hikaru's feelings twice and lose Kaoru's trust in taking her along.

"Um, Kaoru," Haruhi started. Kaoru gazed at her with a friendly expression.

"Haruhi, if you're going somewhere else, tell Hikaru." Kaoru shrugged.

"How did you –"

"Well, you did mention that you want some fresh air." Kaoru grinned. "You ought to be careful, though. I don't want the entire host club panicking again because of you or the lord."

'Panicking' caught Haruhi's attention. Kaoru coughed. "Sorry, wrong word. The host club is deeply concerned about your condition. I'm sure you knew that. If the lord was only awake, he would be the one panicking about you."

"You got that right. He might be running around like an. . ." Haruhi said.

"IDIOT!" They said in unison and then, both laughed.

"Ahem," Hikaru cleared his throat. "You guys seem to be having some fun. What are you guys talking about?"

"Nothing really," Kaoru chuckled. "Haruhi has something to tell you. Isn't that right, Haruhi?" He turned around and put his headset on and turned on his iPod.

"What is it? Is there something wrong with what I picked?" Hikaru stared at Haruhi's gaze, which was at the basket.

"N – No," Haruhi stammered. "Hikaru, I – well, I will go somewhere else around the mall. I need some time alone if that's okay with you and Kaoru? I'll text you where you can pick me up. You boys could bring home the groceries; here are my keys." She handed the keys to Hikaru. Hikaru felt a shock when her hands touched his. He quickly looked away as he took it.

"Oh," Hikaru scratched his head. "T – That's fine. I – well, I mean we, Kaoru and I, were just worried about you. You don't need to worry about the lord, he will be fine."

"Oh, don't be. I'm alright. I know he will be." Haruhi grinned. "Besides, I'm not the only one worried about him right?"

Hikaru felt his cheeks burning up as Haruhi grinned. "I – Is there anything else you want us to buy for you?"

"The ones on the list are fine." Haruhi said. "Just wait for my text, okay?"

"Sure thing," Hikaru smirked. "As long as it's not forever."

"Thanks," Haruhi tapped Hikaru's right shoulder and left, leaving Hikaru speechless.

_Where are we going?_

"A place where we can be alone; but I doubt to find a place like that in a mall." Haruhi scampered towards nowhere. At the back of her mind, she had no idea where to go. A mall is full of people, no matter which store she would enter. It would be impossible to be alone.

_Haruhi,_

"What is it? Do you know where we can go somewhere alone?" Haruhi asked distractedly.

_No, but I want you to hear me out._

"Go ahead. I'm listening." Haruhi glanced from her side to check which store has fewer customers. But if she did enter in a store, other customers would be interested to come in as well.

_I was just wondering... _Tamaki breathed in. _If we could spend some time together before you make a wish._

Haruhi slowed down. Tamaki had caught her attention. "I won't go anywhere, I promise."

_You cannot promise me something like that. It is not rest-assuring. _Tamaki said; his voice was serious now. _Let me spend my time with you, until the last minute. We don't know what's going to happen to us._

"NOTHING'S GOING TO HAPPEN TO US!" Haruhi breathed. People around her gave her a perplexed look. She covered her lips and grinned timidly. "Y – Yes, that's right. I don't think the world shall end right away. We still – ugh – have hope left! Oh, was I thinking out loud? Sorry."

"Is she okay?"

"What is she talking about?"

"Must be the end of the world."

"Nah, must be out of her mind."

_Will you just say yes or no?_

Haruhi felt embarrassed and walked away from the buzzing crowd. "Oh, alright, I agree. But how long are we talking about here?"

_A month,_

"A what?! It's too long! Aren't you asking too much?" Haruhi exclaimed. People narrowed their eyes on Haruhi. She had to remember to keep her voice down. She was becoming crazy to everyone's eyes.

_O – Okay, three weeks._

"No, how about a week? Is that long enough?"

_Two weeks._

"We could extend it into two weeks; it depends on my decision. A week is enough but like I said, we could extend it if I want to. Is that fine with you then?"

_I guess so. I – Is it alright for you? I could feel you're furious about it. If I'm just forcing you, then, you could've just disagreed earlier._

"Yes, I'm furious about what you're asking but I'm not forced to do this." Haruhi calmed down. "I – thought it was a good idea. We could think of other ways to bring ourselves back to normal. That is, if there are other _options._"

_And at the same time, we could spend some time together. _Tamaki grinned.

"How actually are we going to do that?" Haruhi chuckled. "We're in one body, particularly, my body."

_It doesn't matter. _Tamaki said; his voice was becoming clearer. He had thought of things positively. _Because I know you're with me._

Haruhi just grinned. "Weirdo."

_I heard that. _Tamaki chuckled.

Haruhi laughed until her stomach ache. "O – Okay, then, where are we going now that we've decided to go on a date?"

_A d – date?! _Tamaki repeated; he was making sure he had heard it right.

"Yes, 15 or less days of date." Haruhi said thoughtfully. "Is there something wrong, Senpai? Senpai?"


	19. Author's Note

_Hey readers! I would like to thank you for your continuous support and reviews for my work. I believe that the story has come to an end. Nah. It's just beginning. If you think you could suggest scenes for Tamaki & Haruhi –that means Tamaki being in Haruhi's body, of course – then send me a message. You could check out the **sequel** I will be creating soon._

_Anyway, I would like to thank those who have left their reviews on my work and they are the following: (These are arranged according to chapter numbers.)_

* * *

xVAMPIRExEMPRESSx

KageNoNeko

MhiaFujioka

LogictheTribbleAteMehBrainz

Ai Usagi

SingerToPotatos

ohshcfan13


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